A Grim Fairy Tale

Once upon a time there were people who dwelled in a huge forest. They cared for the forest and in return had many kinds of trees to use for shelter for them and their livestock. Then one day a man from a distant marshy land having no forests came through their forest realm. The man said I have with me seeds for a very special tree. This tree will satisfy all your needs and much more so than your forest.

At the sound of his words, the forest dwellers became very excited. “What must we do to have this tree?” they asked. The man said they need do only one thing. They had to promise they would decorate the tree with fancy ornaments as long as it grew. In fact the life of the tree depended upon these ornaments. Then the man showed them examples of ornaments and said anything like them, especially those they hand made, would help the tree grow.

So the forest dwellers agreed to this condition and in return the man planted the seeds and left some ornaments. And the tree grew and grew. And as it grew the forest dwellers added more and more ornaments to the tree. As they did so they failed to notice that the branches of the tree turned black and became twisted. They also did not see the runners cast out by the tree which soon infested the forest around it. Then one day when the infestation had reached its peak, the forest died. Then winter came and the forest dwellers, having no shelter, froze and like the forest also died. Only the tree remained with its branches sagging under the weight of so many ornaments.

Moral: Sometimes it pays to give close attention to the trees as well as to the forest.