aesop's fables

"❁ the lark and her young ones

a lark had made her nest in the early spring
on the young green wheat.
her sons and daughters had almost grown
to their full strength
and attained 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 where they should move for safety.
"there is no occasion to move yet,
my son, you need not worry," she replied.

the owner of the field came again a few days later
and saw the wheat stopping the grain from becoming ripe.
he said, "I will come to the field tomorrow with my laborers,
and with as many reapers as I can hire,
and I will complete the harvest."
the lark, upon hearing these words,
said to her sons and daughters,
"it is time to be off now, my little ones,
for the farmer is truly earnest this time."

the man who only asks his friends to help him with his harvest is not truly earnest.