Hans Christian Andersen
Synopsis
According to a sparrow that heard it from an old willow tree, the reason a buckwheat field may be burned after a thunderstorm is not solely on the lightning.
During a storm the flowers bowed their heads to protect themselves from the rain but the buckwheat would not and stood tall.
The flowers pleaded with the buckwheat as they feared the storm would break it in too. The buckwheat still refused.
The tree told the buckwheat to not look at the lightning as even man did not and why would plants dare to do so if man wasn’t so foolish.
After the storm the tree and the flowers were refreshed and the buckwheat stood burned and useless.
The tree cried for the buckwheat and its pride.
The End
Lessons & Takeaways
Pride
The story is fairly short so there is really only one main theme.
The demise of the buckwheat was due to pride. The flowers and the tree warned the buckwheat that the storm was more powerful than they were. There were certain ways the plants had found to survive and benefit from the storm.
The buckwheat believed itself to be the smartest and most resilient creature, even more than man. It would not take any advice from the young flowers or the long standing oak.
Sometimes, when we want to be stubborn, we don’t listen to the advice of others. We don’t like the suggestion just because we didn’t come up with it ourselves. The buckwheat fell into this same trap and stood their ground. This hubris led to the entire field being set ablaze by the lightning.
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