A carpenter and his apprentices were travelling through the province of Qi in search of building materials.<>
They saw a giant tree; five men all holding hands could not encompass its girth, and its crown reached almost to the clouds.<>
‘Let’s not waste our time with this tree,’ said the master carpenter. ‘It would take us for ever to cut it down. If we wanted to make a ship out of that heavy trunk, the ship would sink. If we tried to use it to build a roof, the walls would have to be specially reinforced.’<>
The group continued on its way. One of the apprentices remarked:<>
‘Such a big tree and no use to anyone!’<>
‘That’s where you’re wrong,’ said the master carpenter. ‘The tree was true to its own destiny.<>
“If it had been like all the others, we would have cut it down. But because it had the courage to be different, it will remain alive and strong for a long time yet.’<>
Paulo Coelho<>
