<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Wikisource has original text related to this article: Translation: Giono letter to Digne official </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Wikisource has original text related to this article: Translation: Giono letter to Digne official </Td> </Tr> <P> The story itself is so touching that many readers have believed that Elzéard Bouffier was a genuine historical figure and that the narrator of the story was a young Jean Giono himself, and that the tale is part autobiographical . Certainly, Giono lived during this time . While he was alive, Giono enjoyed allowing people to believe that the story was real, and considered it as a tribute to his skill . His daughter, Aline Giono, described it as "a family story for a long time". However, Giono himself explained in a 1957 letter to an official of the city of Digne: </P> <P> Sorry to disappoint you, but Elzéard Bouffier is a fictional person . The goal was to make trees likeable, or more specifically, make planting trees likeable . </P>

The man who planted trees jean giono analysis