Patience Is Safer

 The Bamboo and the Oak

In a quiet village nestled at the edge of a lush forest, two trees grew side by side — a proud oak and a humble bamboo shoot.

The oak, tall and broad, towered over the bamboo. "Look at you," it would say mockingly. "So thin and fragile. I faced storms when you were just a seed."

The bamboo remained silent, bending slightly with the breeze, never complaining. Years passed. The bamboo grew taller, but still, it bowed with the wind while the oak remained firm and rigid.

One summer, dark clouds gathered quickly. A violent storm approached. The wind howled through the forest, pulling at branches and ripping leaves from trees. The oak stood stiff, refusing to yield. The bamboo swayed low, almost touching the ground, but never broke.

That night, the storm roared louder than any before. When morning came, the village awoke to devastation. The mighty oak had cracked at its trunk and fallen, its roots torn from the earth.

The bamboo, though bruised and soaked, still stood — bowed but alive.

A young boy who had watched the storm with wide eyes came running to the forest. Seeing the fallen oak and the standing bamboo, he asked his grandfather, “Why did the strong tree fall while the thin one lived?”

The old man smiled and said, “Strength is not only in standing tall but in knowing when to bend. The bamboo survived because it was patient, not proud. It waited for the storm to pass.”

Years later, the boy planted bamboo near his home, remembering the lesson from the storm.

Moral:

 Patience is safer.