Why didn't they eat the "tree star"?
First of all, I never understood why his mother told him it was "very special". It was a leaf! Was it just because it happened to be perfectly shaped as opposed to the other leaves?
Now, I understand why he didn't want to eat it after his mother died. It became sentimental. But why didn't he eat it when she first gave it to him? And why didn't any of the others ask to eat it? They were all hungry.