The Woodcutter and the Forest

The woodcutter and the forest

A woodcutter had three sons.
As the boys grew to be men, they left the forest, to live in the city.
The oldest son became an urban planner.
The middle son got into retail.
And the youngest son became a writer.
The woodcutter missed his sons, but knew they must make their own way in the world.
To keep him from being so sad, the woodcutter carved 3 statues of his sons.
One day a fire burned down the forest.
The woodcutter fled the burning trees, barely escaping.
When the fire subsided, he returned only to find his house reduced to smoldering ashes.
The forest was burned down, so he had no way to make a living.
The statues of his three sons survived, remaining miraculously intact.
The woodcutter was torn about what to do.
Should he stay in the burned forest with the statues of his sons ?
Should he cut them down and take them with him ?
In the end he decided to leave the statues in the blackened forest.
The woodcutter hoped one day, the trees would grow back and the forest would return.
He hoped one day a grandson or granddaughter would return to the forest and become a woodcutter.

In life, you always hope to return to the forest.