The bird cherry has run out of patience. From the moment its tart berries ripened, the daring, annoying thrushes became unbearable. From morning to evening they circled in flocks above it, mercilessly tearing off all the branches with their beaks and claws.
- Please, I beg you! - she begged, turning to the most annoying blackbird. — I know that my berries are your favorite treat. Eat them for your health, I don’t mind. But leave my leaves alone. Don't tear them down! Under their shade I escape from the scorching sun. And don’t torment me with sharp claws, don’t tear off my skin!
The blackbird was the first bully in the flock, and the bird cherry’s words did not suit his taste.
- Keep quiet unless they ask you! Nature itself has it so that you bear fruit for my pleasure. What's the matter with you, you stupid cudgel, talking about it! In winter you will go for firewood.
Hearing this answer, the bird cherry became even more saddened and silently cried.
But the mischievous thrush, who predicted her death, himself fell into a snare set by a peasant. To build a cage for the caught bird, the man pulled up the wattle fence and broke several flexible branches of the bird cherry.
So the bird cherry again met with its offender, who now sat dejectedly in the cage and was quieter than water, lower than the grass. But she remained silent, remembering the words she heard in her youth: just as warm clothes save you from the cold, so endurance protects you from resentment. Increase patience and peace of mind, and resentment, no matter how bitter, will not touch you.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru