The Plane Tree
Two Travellers, walking in the noonday sun, sought the shade of a widespreading tree to rest. As they lay looking up among the pleasant leaves, they saw that it was a Plane Tree."How useless is the Plane!" said one of them. "It bears no fruit whatever, and only serves to litter the ground with leaves.""Ungrateful creatures!" said a voice from the Plane Tree. "You lie here in my cooling shade, and yet you say I am useless! Thus ungratefully, O Jupiter, do men receive their blessings!"
Our best blessings are often the least appreciated.
The Fox & the Grapes
A Fox one day spied a beautiful bunch of ripe grapes hanging from a vine trained along the branches of a tree. The grapes seemed ready to burst with juice, and the Fox's mouth watered as he gazed longingly at them.The bunch hung from a high branch, and the Fox had to jump for it. The first time he jumped he missed it by a long way. So he walked off a short distance and took a running leap at it, only to fall short once more. Again and again he tried, but in vain.Now he sat down and looked at the grapes in disgust."What a fool I am," he said. "Here I am wearing myself out to get a bunch of sour grapes that are not worth gaping for." And off he walked very, very scornfully.
There are many who pretend to despise and belittle that which is beyond their reach.
The Wolf & the Crane
A Wolf had been feasting too greedily, and a bone had stuck crosswise in his throat. He could get it neither up nor down, and of course he could not eat a thing. Naturally that was an awful state of affairs for a greedy Wolf.So away he hurried to the Crane. He was sure that she, with her long neck and bill, would easily be able to reach the bone and pull it out."I will reward you very handsomely," said the Wolf, "if you pull that bone out for me."The Crane, as you can imagine, was very uneasy about putting her head in a Wolf's throat. But she was grasping in nature, so she did what the Wolf asked her to do.When the Wolf felt that the bone was gone, he started to walk away."But what about my reward!" called the Crane anxiously."What!" snarled the Wolf, whirling around. "Haven't you got it? Isn't it enough that I let you take your head out of my mouth without snapping it off?"
Expect no reward for serving the wicked.
