By the edge of a babbling brook stood a mighty oak. Tall and robust, it towered over everything, casting long shadows as the sun moved across the sky. Beside it, the reeds danced, bending gracefully with every breeze that whispered through.
“Look at you, swaying and bending with every little breeze,” the Oak boomed down to the Reeds. “Why can’t you stand tall and strong like me?”
One of the reeds replied, “Dear Oak, we bend because it is our nature. We do not resist; we move with the wind.”
The Oak laughed, its leaves rustling. “I stand strong and resist every storm. That’s why I’m powerful.”
One day, a fierce storm rolled in. The winds howled, and the rain thrashed down. The reeds, as always, bent and swayed, yielding to the storm’s fury, then returning upright when the gusts passed.
The Oak, however, stood defiantly against the storm, resisting the powerful winds with all its might. But the storm was too strong. With a deafening crack, the Oak was uprooted and brought down.
Lying on the ground, the Oak saw the reeds still standing, dancing lightly in the aftermath of the storm.
One of the reeds whispered, “Sometimes strength is in yielding, not in resistance.”
Moral of the Story
It’s better to bend than to break. Flexibility in tough times can be a greater strength than rigidity.