A man had four sons. He wanted to teach them not to judge things too quickly. So he sent each on a quest, in turn, to look at a pear tree far away.
His first son went in winter, the second in spring, the third in summer, and the youngest in autumn. When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.
The first son said the tree was ugly, bent and twisted. The second son said it no, it was covered with green buds and full of promise. The third son disagreed, said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen. The last son disagreed with all of them, he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of fulfillment.
The man explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen only one season in the tree's life. He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season and that the essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy and love that come from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up. If you give up in winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfillment of your autumn.
Moral:
Don't let the pain of one season of life destroy the joy of all the rest. Don't judge life by one difficult season. Persevere through difficult patches and better times are sure to come. Definitely, after difficulty there must come ease. [Al Qur’aan]
Don’t judge people too quickly. You might find their good only later.
Four Sons
