The Old Man and the Three Young Men
An eighty-year-old man plants a sapling; the young men say, "You won't see its fruit."
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An eighty-year-old man was planting a walnut sapling in his garden. Three young men passing by laughed: "Grandpa, this tree takes forty years to bear fruit. You won't get to eat its walnuts, why are you bothering?"
The old man straightened up and leaned on his spade. "Boys," he said, "when I was a child, my grandfather planted walnuts too. I grew up eating the walnuts from the tree he planted. I am planting this tree not so that I can eat, but so that my grandchildren can. I won't be here to sit in its shade, but the shade will be here."
The young men fell silent. The old man went on: "And who knows? Maybe I'll go before you tomorrow, or maybe you before me. None of us knows. Sowing something today for what we don't know is not foolishness; it is hope."
The three young men went on their way. Years later a huge walnut tree rose in the square of that village. Children played beneath it. None of them knew who had planted the sapling. But the shade was there.
You sow something today too: a seed, a kindness, a book. Perhaps someone else will eat its fruit; let them.
The tale ends here. Sleep well.
The Old Man and the Three Young Men is a children's tale from La Fontaine, suitable for ages 6-11 and about 1 minutes long. Read it free on Masal Merkezi, play a lullaby or nature sound in the background, tap any word to see its Turkish meaning and save it to your favorites. For similar tales browse the La Fontaine Fables category.
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