  If a stronger enemy assails you, better bend like the reed by the stream. Do not rear like an angry snake if unremitting prosperity is what you seek. Following the lowly manner of the reed a man gains great prosperity in time. Adopting the overbearing manner of the snake, he is simply courting death. *Excerpt from Pancatantra The moral? Better to bend like a reed than attack like a snake. The reed is buoyant, pliable and endures with time. Mighty oaks may break in a vicious storm, but reeds stand firm and last. 
