The Fir and the Bramble

The fir and the bramble were disputing with each other. The fir boasted and said, "I am beautiful, tall, and lofty, and I serve to build the roofs of temples and to make ships. How dare you compare yourself to me?" "If you remembered," retorted the bramble, "the axes and saws that cut you, you too would prefer the lot of the bramble."