The Gourd and the Poplar Tree

🌳 The Gourd and the Poplar Tree

Once upon a time, there was an old man named Uncle Mehmet who had a big garden.

One day, Uncle Mehmet planted a gourd seed at the bottom of the poplar tree in his garden. When spring arrived, the gourd sprouted and grew and grew and grew, climbing and wrapping itself around the poplar tree until it reached the very top.

When the gourd reached the top of the poplar tree, it began to speak to the tree with pride: "Brother Poplar, how many months did it take you to grow this tall?"

The Poplar tree replied: "It took me ten years, brother Gourd."

The Gourd shook its flowers and laughed: "What?! Ten years? Look at me! I reached the same height as you in only two months!"

The Poplar replied to the Gourd's reaction: "He who laughs last, laughs best, brother Gourd. He who laughs last, laughs best."

Spring passed, and autumn came. The trees began to shed their leaves one by one. With the first winds, the Gourd started to feel cold, and as the cold grew stronger, it began to shrink and slowly creep back down.

As its height decreased day by day, the Gourd asked the Poplar tree in fear: "Brother Poplar, Brother Poplar, what is happening to me? Why am I shrinking and shriveling?"

The Poplar tree answered the Gourd: "You have reached the end of your life, brother Gourd. That is why you are shrinking and shriveling."

The Gourd asked: "But why? What happened? What did I do?"

The Poplar replied: "What more could it be, brother Gourd? You tried to reach in two months the place that took me ten years to reach. A point reached without hard work and effort is not considered success. What is easily gained is easily lost. Every job requires effort and sweat."

The Gourd understood that it was wrong to reach a high place without effort, by simply leaning on others. It deeply regretted what it had said to the Poplar, but it suffered the punishment for its mistake by shrinking back to where it started.

And this story ends here.

He who laughs last, laughs best. What is easily gained is easily lost.