The Fern And The Bamboo: A Fable About Resilience

The fable about the fern and the bamboo tells us about a man who had a breakdown. He was a furniture maker and he did very well. Then a large furniture company came to town. It had a lot of money, excellent machinery and a lot of staff. Soon the big company became very well known in the place. 

The factory broke a record in making furniture. They were also very good quality. In addition, the factory sold the furniture at lower prices than the furniture offered by the furniture maker. It started to get worse for him. Within just a few months, he knew he was headed for bankruptcy. This disturbed him.

To make matters worse, he also had problems with his wife. She was a teacher and her salary was not enough to support their three children. The joiner tried to find a new job, but he failed. His wife blamed him and this ultimately affected their children as well. They started having problems with their school grades.

The fern and the bamboo, a good lesson

The joiner in our story was really desperate. He made less money. He also had less energy and less hope. His mind began to struggle.  The joiner saw no escape. One day he went for a walk in a nearby forest to reflect. He was about to learn the secrets of the fern and the bamboo.

He was walking through the woods for half an hour when he met a friendly old man who greeted him. The old man had a small house and when he saw the joiner, he invited him for tea. He saw the trouble on the joiner’s face and asked him what was going on. So the joiner told him about his misfortunes while the old man listened attentively and calmly.

When they had finished drinking the tea, the old man invited the joiner to view a large tract of land at the back of his house. Ferns and bamboo grew next to the dozens of trees. The old man asked him to observe both plants and told him he had a story to tell.

The promised story: the fern and the bamboo

The cabinetmaker was very interested in what the old man had to tell him. The latter started the story. He said: “Eight years ago I took some seeds and planted the fern and bamboo at the same time. I wish both plants grew in my garden because they both give me satisfaction. I did everything I could to take care of them as if they were a treasure.”

Shortly after, I noticed that the fern and bamboo responded differently to my concern. The fern began to grow and in just a few months it became a majestic plant that adorned everything with its presence. The bamboo, on the other hand, was still underground, showing no signs of life.

The old man went on with his story as the joiner listened with great interest. “After a year, the fern continued to grow, but the bamboo did not. However, I didn’t give up. I took extra care of it. Nevertheless, another year went by and my work still hadn’t paid off. The bamboo hadn’t grown.”

Time and Resilience

The old man went on to say, “Neither did I give up after the second year, nor the third, nor the fourth. After five years I finally saw a shy twig sprout from the ground. The next day it was much bigger. After a few months it continued to grow and became an incredible bamboo of over 10 meters. Do you know why it took so long to grow?”

The joiner thought for a moment, but didn’t know what to say. The old man spoke again and said, “It took five years for the bamboo to grow because the plant was taking root in the ground. He knew he had to grow very tall and so he couldn’t emerge until he had a solid foundation that allowed him to grow well. Do you understand?”

The furniture maker got the message. He now understood that things sometimes take time because they take root. That it is important to persevere and not lose faith. Before leaving, the old man gave the joiner a message that he could keep forever. It said, “Happiness keeps you sweet. Trials keep you strong. Grief keeps you human. Failure keeps you humble. Success makes you grow.”