Aesop's Fables
A
PEASANT had in his garden an
Apple-Tree which bore no fruit but only served as a
harbor for the
sparrows and
grasshoppers. He resolved to cut it down, and taking his
axe in his hand, made a bold stroke at its
roots. The grasshoppers and sparrows
entreated him not to cut down the tree that sheltered them, but to spare it, and they would
sing to him and lighten his
labors. He paid no attention to their request, but gave the tree a second and a third blow with his axe. When he reached the
hollow of the tree, he found a
hive full of
honey. Having tasted the
honeycomb, he threw down his axe, and looking on the tree as
sacred, took great care of it.
Self-interest alone moves some men.