Aesop's Fables

A Lark had made her nest in the early spring in the young green wheat. The brood had almost grown to their full strength and had gained the use of their wings and the full plumage of their feathers when the owner of the field, looking over his ripe crop, said, “The time has come when I must ask all my neighbors to help me with my harvest.” One of the young Larks heard his speech and reported it to his mother, asking her where they should move for safety. “There is no need to move yet, my son,” she replied. “The man who only sends to his friends to help him with his harvest is not really in earnest.” The owner of the field came again a few days later and saw the wheat shedding its grain because it was overripe. He said, “I will come myself tomorrow with my laborers, and with as many reapers as I can hire, and I will bring in the harvest.” On hearing these words, the Lark said to her brood, “Now it is time to leave, 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.