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30 the rigid oak and the flexible reed AN OAK TREE GREW BESIDE a stream, and although he was proud of his power and spread of branches, he did condescend to talk to a reed nearby, a thing so flexible that he would bend if even a dragonfly lit on his stalk. Seeing this, the oak would say, "Keep your head upl Carry yourself as I dol" And so things went until a hurricane struck one day. The reed at the first blast trembled and fell flat against the earth. He looked up after a time to see how the oak ,vas faring, and it was then he knew that the oak at last had met a thing stronger than himself. "Bend downl" said the little reed. "Bend down if you want to escape!" But the inflexible oak could not take the reed's advice, [ 58 ] since he had never learned to bend. He knew but one way to meet ill fortune, and that was to resist with all his strength, and he held himself more and more stiffly against the wind; but his firmness helped him little this time, and soon his branches were torn away, and his trunk began to split. "Bend down!" said the reed. "Bend down if you want to escape!" Then, even as he called out, he saw the oak uprooted and hurled across the field, but when the hurricane had blown itself out, the reed began to rise from his place on the ground until after a time he was standing as erect as before, ready to bend in any direction in the face of any adverse wind. ...

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