This folk tale from the Amazon tells of a time when there were no fruits on trees and forest dwellers had to live off roots and berries. However, an adventurous tribesman, Coati, comes across a magical tree deep in the rainforest, laden with fruits of every kind. He returns repeatedly to the tree until his brother discovers his secret and insists on sharing this bounty with everyone in their village.. A crowd visits the tree to strip it of its fruit, but a child is stung by a wasp and the tree is blamed. But when it is cut down in anger, water pours from its stump, bringing a great flood and causing the people to flee to higher ground. Afterwards, the forest is found to have been repopulated with trees bearing a single variety of fruit. The simple, enlarged text and humorous illustration nevertheless pose an ambiguous moral involving personal greed and communal responsibilities.