The Wisdom of the Swallow
An
old swallow resting on a bean vine saw a farmer sowing hemp seeds in his field.
“Beware,
friends!” he said to the pigeons around him. “That farmer is going to destroy
us.”
“What
makes you say so?” asked one little pigeon.
“Because
he is sowing hemp seeds!” said the old swallow. “When the hemp grows, he will
make them into cords and tie them into nets to trap us. My advice to you is to
pick up the seeds as soon as he leaves!”
However,
the birds did not pay heed to his advice. A few days later the old swallow
died.
The
hempseeds grew into plants.
Then
one day, as the birds were about to fly out in a flock, the farmer caught them
in his newly-made hemp net.
“Alas!”
cried the pigeons as they fell into the net, “If only we had listened to the
old swallow!”
Moral of the story: Destroy the seed of evil or it will grow up to be your ruin.
