Better bent than broken Better bent than broken Once a huge oak tree stood on the bank of a river It was well nourished by the water of the river Naturally, it was very strong and had a thick stem Jus[.]
Better bent than broken Better bent than broken Once a huge oak tree stood on the bank of a river It was well nourished by the water of the river Naturally, it was very strong and had a thick stem Just nearby, grew some reeds with thin but flexible stems They stood almost half in water and had flourished well too One day, strong winds blew The tree, though huge and strong, broke from the middle and was thrown across the stream just among the reeds On the other hand, the tree was very surprised to see that the reeds suffered no harm at all The oak could not make out the reason of the safety of the reeds and asked them, "How is it that, you being frail and slender, managed to face the gale without any harm But I, strong enough, have been broken." The reeds replied, "You were proud of your strength and refused to bend So, you broke while we bowed and yielded to the gale and were spared." Một sồi lớn mọc bờ dịng sơng Nó ni dưỡng tốt nhờ nước dịng sơng Lẽ tự nhiên, khỏe mạnh có cành rậm rạp Ở dần đó, mọc vài đám sậy với cành mỏng mềm dẻo Chúng mọc gần hết nửa nước mọc sum suê Một ngày nọ, gió mạnh thổi đến Cây cối, dù to lớn khỏe mạnh, bị gãy nửa bị vào dòng suối đám sậy Mặt khác, cối ngạc nhiên nhìn thấy đám sậy khơng phải chịu tổn hại Cây sồi đưa lý an toàn sậy hỏi chúng: " Bạn làm bạn yếu ớt mảnh khảnh lại xoay sở để đối mặt với gió mạnh mà khơng bị thiệt hại Cịn tơi, dù đủ khỏe mạnh, mà bị gãy" Lau sậy trả lời: "Bạn tự hào sức mạnh từ chối cúi Vì vậy, bạn gãy đổ chúng tơi cúi đầu hàng gió mạnh tha"