The Oak Tree (a fable): a tale about future hopes and present circumstances.

The ancients tell a story of an oak tree that grew next to a lake. In the lake the fish, frogs, and ducks discussed their future. The fish wanted deeper areas to raise their young. The frogs sought more insects to satisfy their hunger. The ducks desired broader expanses to swim.

Every year the animals would gather to discuss their future hopes. The lake however stubbornly refused to become deeper or broader and it attracted no more insects. So they called in the beavers to design a dam. The dam, the beavers said, would improve all their lives. The water levels would be raised, and the lake’s greater expanse would attract more insects. They all cheered the beavers and themselves for thinking about the future so clearly.

The beavers said they would build the dam from the oak tree. The tree, they all agreed, grew near the pond with no purpose. It offered the fish, frogs, and ducks nothing useful. So they applauded without hesitation the beavers’ plan.

It took the beavers some time to fell the oak. It had stood there many years. Its trunk had been twisted by storms and then straightened by sun, so that its wood was hard and ridden with knots. The beavers were ingenious and determined, and they took the pieces of the tree to build a fine dam.

The dam raised the waters and the fish found deeper areas, the frogs more insects, and the ducks more room to swim. As the years passed their offspring forgot that the tree had ever been there. When they came together for their annual meeting, they all spoke about their hope for more shade. The beavers however said it would take many years for a tree to provide it, so it was not necessary.

For other posts about fables, see here