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格鲁吉亚

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There was once a wise man who loved solitude, and dwelt far away from
other men, meditating on the vanities of the world. He spent nearly all
his time in the open air, and he could easily do this, for he lived
in a lovely southern land where there is no winter and but little
rain. As he wandered once among the verdure of his garden, the sage
stopped before an aged walnut tree covered with ripening nuts, and
said: 'Why is there such a strange want of symmetry in nature? Here,
for instance, is a walnut tree a hundred years old, hiding its top
in the clouds, and yet how small is its fruit: itself it grows from
year to year, but its fruit is always of the same size. Now, on the
beds at the foot of the tree there grow great pumpkins and melons on
very small creeping plants. It would be more fitting if the pumpkins
grew on the walnut trees and the walnuts on the pumpkin beds. Why
this want of symmetry in nature?' The sage thought deeply on the
subject, and walked in the garden for a long time, till at last he
felt sleepy. He lay down under the shady walnut tree, and was soon
slumbering peacefully. In a short time, he felt a slight blow on
the face, then a second, and then a third. As he opened his eyes, a
ripe walnut fell on his nose. The sage leaped to his feet, and said:
'Now I understand the secret of nature. If this tree had borne melons
or pumpkins, my head would have been broken. Henceforth let no one
presume to find fault with Providence!'