A Woodman came into a
forest and made
a petition to the Trees
to provide him a
handle for his axe.
The Trees, honored by his civility,
acceded
to his request, and held a consultation,
to de-
cide which of them should be given him.
Without a dissenting voice,
the choice fell
upon the Ash, which, it seems, is not a favor-
ite among the Trees. Some of them were bold
enough to say that bad
luck went with the
Ash, and that at heart they were not bound to
be in sympathy with woodcutters.
The Woodman cut down the Tree, and fitted
the handle to his axe; then, to the
dismay of
the Trees, set to
work, and, with strong
strokes, quickly felled all the noblest giants
of
the forest. Lamenting too late the fate
of his
companions, an old Oak said to a neighboring
Cedar:
"The first step has lost
us all. If we had
not so willingly given up
the rights of the
Ash, we might have stood for ages."
|
