		Enjoy Free Classics
Site Map > Electronic Library > Aesop > Aesop's Fables > THE TREE AND THE REED

Aesop's Fables

by Aesop

previous: THE ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER

THE TREE AND THE REED

"Well, little one," said a Tree to a Reed that was growing at its foot, "why do you not plant your feet deeply in the ground, and raise your head boldly in the air as I do?"

"I am contented with my lot," said the Reed. "I may not be so grand, but I think I am safer."

"Safe!" sneered the Tree. "Who shall pluck me up by the roots or bow my head to the ground?" But it soon had to repent of its boasting, for a hurricane arose which tore it up from its roots, and cast it a useless log on the ground, while the little Reed, bending to the force of the wind, soon stood upright again when the storm had passed over.

Obscurity often brings safety.

Turn to the next chapter: THE FOX AND THE CAT