The script is based on the Japanese fairy tale The Tree of Last Year by Nankichi Niimi.

The Bird and the Tree are good friends, with the Bird always singing to the Tree. In winter, the Bird flies south, promising to return in the spring. When spring arrives, the Bird comes back to find that
the Tree is gone. Searching everywhere, the Bird discovers that the Tree has been cut down and made into matches. Eventually, the Bird finds a candle lit by those matches. The Bird sings a silent song to the candle flame and then flies away...