“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.