There was a lovely vegetable patch (菜园). A large tree grew there. Both the patch and the tree gave the place a wonderful look, and they were the pride (骄傲) of the gardener. But no one knew that the vegetables and the tree couldn't stand each other. The vegetables hated the tree's shadow, because it left them only just enough light to live. The tree, on the other hand, hated the vegetables because they drank almost all of the water, leaving him just enough to live.
It became so serious that the vegetables decided to use up all the water in the ground so that the tree would die. The tree answered back by not protecting the vegetables from the hot sun, so they began to dry up. Soon the vegetables were really weak, and the tree was drying up.
The gardener wanted to know why and stopped watering them. When he did that, both the tree and the vegetables realized that it was better to help each other. They learned how to live in harmony (和谐) with those around them. So they decided to work together, using both the shade and the water to grow well. After seeing how well they were doing, the gardener gave the best care to his vegetable patch, watering and fertilizing (施肥) it better than any other patch for miles around.
