Classic Poem

The Oaks with melancholy air
Complained to sovereign Jupiter:
" We bear the load of life in vain;
Of all the trees on hill or plain —
Birch or butternut or beech,
Cherry-tree or pear or peach,
Eucalyptus or allaxis —
We suffer most from hacks of axes. "
" The cause, " replied the king of gods,
" Is due to neither spites nor frauds, —
But lies within yourselves, my Oaks:
For were you not a boon to folks,
Above all woods, for posts and rails,
For roof-trees, handles, staves, and pails,
No man would come in leathern boots
With hacks of axes on your roots. "

MORAL

Unusual gifts for doing good
May cost us dearer than we would.