Once, there were three pine trees atop a mountain. Of these, two pines were young and one was old. The young pines were tall and straight. Their wood, too, was of good quality. The old pine was bent with age. Also, its wood was chipping. The young pines made fun of the old pine every day. The old pine was very wise and did not say anything to the young pines. Then, one spring morning, a woodcutter came to the mountain top. He saw the three pine trees and said, “Hmm, I’ll cut the two younger pines. Their wood is fine and I can make a nice dining table from it. The old pine’s wood won’t be very strong. Saying this, he felled the two young pines. The old pine said to the young pines, when they were being chopped, “Always be humble. You never know what may befall you.”
The Three Pine Trees
