Two men were walking along one summer day. Soon it became too hot to go any
further and, seeing a large plane tree nearby, they threw themselves on the
ground to rest in its shade. Gazing up into the branches one man said to the
other,
“What a useless tree this is. It does not have fruit or nuts that we can eat
and we cannot even use its wood for anything.”
“Don’t be so ungrateful,” rustled the tree in reply. “I am being extremely
useful to you at this very moment, shielding you from the hot sun. And you call
me a good-for-nothing!”
