The Lark and Her Young Ones

A lark had made her nest in the early spring on the young green wheat. The brood had almost grown to their full strength and had attained the use of their wings and the full plumage of their feathers. One day, the owner of the field, while looking over his ripe crop, declared, "The time has come when I must ask all my neighbors to help me with my harvest."

One of the young larks overheard this speech and related it to his mother, inquiring where they should move for safety. "There is no occasion to move yet, my son," she replied. "The man who only asks his friends to help him with his harvest is not really in earnest."

A few days later, the owner of the field returned and noticed the wheat shedding its grain due to excess ripeness. He stated, "I will come myself tomorrow with my laborers and as many reapers as I can hire, and I will gather in the harvest."

Upon hearing these words, the lark said to her brood, "It is time now to be off, my little ones, for the man is in earnest this time; he no longer trusts his friends, but will reap the field himself."

Self-help is the best help.