Before long, the leaves of the oak withered and fell; the acorns strewed the ground, and his gigantic branches were bare. But soon the briony sprung up and reclothed them with her luxuriant foliage, turning her festoons from bough to bough, and hiding their scathed bark.
She joyed in giving this her humble tribute of gratitude to her withered supporter; and while the trees of the grove rejoiced in his end, the briony only bitterly wept his fall.
So that one kind act of the oak brought a reward; and the little green shoot, which in his strength he had deigned to nurture, lived to crown his leafless boughs with lovely verdure.
