Abraham Lincoln, a noted storyteller, recalled that "there was a farmer who had a very large shade tree towering over his house. It was a majestic-looking tree, and apparently perfect in every part -- tall, straight, and of immense size -- the grand old sentinel of his forest home.
One morning, while at work in his garden, the farmer saw a squirrel run up the tree into a hole; he wondered if the tree might be hollow.
He proceeded to examine the tree carefully and, much to his surprise, he found that the stately tree that he valued for its beauty and grandeur was hollow from top to bottom. Only a rim of sound wood remained, barely sufficient to support its own weight.
What was he now to do? If he cut it down, it would do great damage with its great length and enormous spreading branches. If he let it remain, his family was in constant danger. In a storm it might fall, or the wind might blow it down, and his house and children be crushed by it. What should he do?
As he turned away, he said sadly: "I wish I had never seen that squirrel!"
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