A PEASANT had an Apple-Tree in his garden which bore no fruit but only served as a home for the sparrows and grasshoppers.
He resolved to cut it down, and taking his axe in his hand, made a big cut at its roots.
The grasshoppers and sparrows pleased him not to cut down the tree that sheltered them, but to spare it, and they would sing to him and lighten his labors.
He paid no attention to their request, but gave the tree a second and a third blow with his axe.
When he reached the hollow of the tree, he found a hive full of honey.
Having tasted the honeycomb, he threw down his
axe, and looking on the tree as sacred, took
great care of it.
Moral: Self-interest alone moves some
men.