How to maintain insight?

Long, long ago, in a time when the land and forests of Silbaripuram were intertwined, King Vikram ruled the land.

In the countryside stood a magnificent, tall tree. It was very tall with a single trunk, without branches, making it very popular with birds.

This was because humans would not bother to quickly climb the tree to catch birds' nests or birds. Therefore, it contained many bird nests, eggs, and chicks.

One day, an aged bird saw a vine climbing the tree and said to the tree, "Although this vine is small now, when it grows, it will hang down from your branches as a strong rope. At that time, humans might climb up using it and catch us. So, we must do something immediately."

But hearing this, the tree burst into laughter, "What foolishness are you talking about? I, a strong tree, have nothing to fear from a vine. If you are afraid, fly away from here!"

The bird said nothing more. Many months passed, and the fast-growing vine had climbed all the way to the top. Then, it began to grow by dropping strong vines downwards, as if to grip the soil.

One day, when the princess from the palace went to bathe, a thief was lurking and stole her pearl necklace from the bathing ghat.

The soldiers frantically searched for the thief everywhere. At that moment, the thief ran, swung on the tree's vine, climbed to the topmost branch, and hid among the leaves.

However, upon seeing a human, the birds began to make a commotion. Sensing danger, the thief angrily threw down the bird nests.

As the birds screamed, the soldiers who were passing by saw the thief. When the soldiers threw stones to knock him down, the thief was injured and fell onto the tree's roots. As his life ebbed away, his blood stained the entire tree.

The King immediately arrived there and recovered the necklace. Then he commanded, "This blood-stained tree will now be an ill omen for this land. Cut down the tree, including its roots, and burn it today!"

What the aged bird had said earlier came to pass. Because of the vine, the bird chicks, eggs, and the great tree were destroyed. All the birds flew far away, leaving that land.

Moral:

Nip it in the bud – problems, crises, quarrels, failures, mistakes, and bad habits must be uprooted at their very beginning. If delayed, they might spread and become completely destructive!