The peasant and the apple-tree

　　A Peasant had an Apple-tree growing in his garden, which bore no fruit, but merely served to provide a shelter from the heat for the sparrows and grasshoppers which sat and chirped in its branches. Disappointed at its barrenness he determined to cut it sparrows and the grasshoppers saw what he was about to do, they begged him to spare it,  and said to him, “If you destroy the tree we shall have to seek shelter elsewhere, and you will no longer have our merry chirping to enliven your work in the garden.” He ,however, refused to listen to them, and set to work with a will to inside and contained a swarm of bees and a large store of honey. Delighted with his find he threw down his axe, saying, “The old tree is worth keeping after all.”

　　Utility is most men’s test of worth.

　农夫和苹果树

　　有一个农夫，他的园子里有一棵苹果树，这棵树并不茂盛，只能为麻雀和蝉提供一个可栖息的地方，让他们坐在枝桠上歇息和喋喋不休地 。农夫认为这棵树没有什么大用处，决定把它砍掉，于是便拿起斧头走过去砍起树来。然而，那些蝉和麻雀看到农夫的行为后，便请求农夫留下这棵树，并且对他说：“如果你砍掉这棵树，我们还得另外再找一个窝，而你也不会在园子里干活时听到我们为你鼓劲的欢快歌声了。”农夫没理睬他们，继续拿起斧头砍起这棵树，几斧下去之后，树上出现一个洞，他发现树洞里有蜂蜜和蜂巢。他高兴地连忙抛下斧头，说：“这棵树还真是值得保留下来。”

　　寓意：实用性是大多数人对价值的检验。