The Tree and the Reed

"WELL, little one," said a Tree to a Reed that was growing at its foot, "why do you not plant your feet deeply in the ground, and raise your head boldly in the air as I do?" "I am contented with my lot," said the Reed. "I may not be so grand, but I think I am safer."

"Safe!" sneered the Tree. "Who shall pluck me up by the roots or bow my head to the ground?" But it soon had to repent of its boasting, for a hurricane arose which tore it up from its roots, and cast it a useless log on the ground, while the little Reed, bending to the force of the wind, soon stood upright again when the storm had passed over.

Obscurity often brings safety.

From The Tree and the Reed by Aesop, translated by Joseph Jacobs (1894). Public domain.

Check your understanding

1. What happens to the Tree when the hurricane comes?

It bends in the wind and stays safe.It gets torn up by its roots and becomes a useless log.It grows even taller and stronger.It blows away into the sky.

2. Why does the Reed say it is happy with how it grows?

Because it thinks it is safer than the Tree.Because it wants to be as tall as the Tree.Because it likes being covered in dirt.Because it wants to block the wind.

3. Retell what happens to both the Tree and the Reed during and after the hurricane.

4. Why did the Tree sneer at the Reed?

5. The story ends with the lesson 'Obscurity often brings safety.' Based on what happened to the Reed, what does this mean?

6. The Reed stayed safe by bending in the wind instead of standing stiff. Tell about a time in your own life when it was better to be flexible and 'bend' instead of being stubborn.