Aesop's Fables · Chapter
The Walnut-Tree explained
A walnut tree growing by the roadside produces abundant nuts each year, but passersby throw sticks and stones at its branches to knock down the fruit, causing the tree great suffering.
What happens
A walnut tree growing by the roadside produces abundant nuts each year, but passersby throw sticks and stones at its branches to knock down the fruit, causing the tree great suffering. The tree laments that those who enjoy its fruit repay it with insults and blows.
Themes in this chapter
Human Nature and Vice
The fable highlights human ingratitude and the tendency to repay kindness with harm.
Justice and Consequence
The tree's complaint raises questions about the fairness of suffering for providing benefit.
Characters to notice
- The Walnut-Tree
The walnut tree is the central character, bearing fruit and suffering abuse from passersby.
Key passages
“It is hard that the very persons who enjoy my fruit should thus reward me with insults and blows.”
It is unjust that those who benefit from my nuts repay me with abuse and violence.
The tree's lament expresses the core moral of ingratitude.