A cedar grew in one garden. Every year he matured and became taller and more handsome. Its lush crown towered royally above the other trees and cast a thick shadow on them. But the more he grew and stretched upward, the more exorbitant arrogance grew in him. Looking down on everyone with contempt, he once shouted imperiously:
- Take away this pathetic hazel! - And the tree was cut down at the root.
- Free me from the proximity of the obnoxious fig tree! “She bothers me with her stupid appearance,” the capricious cedar ordered another time, and the fig tree suffered the same fate.
Pleased with himself, proudly swaying his branches, the arrogant handsome man did not let up:
- Clear the area around me of old pears and apple trees! - and the trees were used for firewood.
So the restless cedar ordered to destroy all the trees one by one, becoming the sovereign master in the garden, from whose former beauty only stumps remained.
But one day a strong hurricane broke out. The arrogant cedar resisted him with all its might, holding tightly to the ground with its powerful roots. And the wind, not meeting any other trees on its way, freely pounced on the lonely standing handsome man, mercilessly breaking, crushing and bending him down. Finally, the tormented cedar could not withstand the furious blows, cracked and fell to the ground.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru