Tom was walking through the forest with his axe (斧子) when a sapling (树苗) called to him and stopped him on his way.
"Could you please 1 me clear away these trees, kind friend? They are stealing (窃取) all of my sunshine. There is no room 2 the trees, so my roots cannot grow freely. I cannot 3 the wind with the trees above me."
Tom decided he could help the sapling. He swung his axe and cleared the 4 around the sapling. But 5 Tom made space for the sapling, the hot sunlight dried his leaves. Then there was a heavy rainstorm. The 6 sapling couldn't stand (忍受) the weather.
"Oh foolish one," said a farmer who was passing by. "The taller trees may seem like they're taking your sunshine, space and wind from you, 7 they're actually helping you. They 8 you from sunburns, heavy rain and other bad weather. You 9 see them taking your space, but you don't see how they help you. One day when you 10, you might be the one to protect other saplings."
