Four Seasons of a Tree

There was a man who had four sons. He wanted them to learn not to judge things so quickly, so he sent each, in turn, on a quest to look at a pear tree a great distance away.

The first son went in the winter, the second in spring, the third in summer, and the youngest, in the fall. When they had all returned, he called them together to describe what they had seen.

The first son said that the pear tree was ugly, bent and twisted. The second one said no - it was covered with green buds and full of promise.

The third said the tree was laden with blossoms that smelled sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen. The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit.

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but one season in the tree's life. He added that you cannot judge a tree - or a person - by only one season, and that the essence of who we are - and the pleasure, joy and love that come from life - can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.

Taken from Starmag