The man then said to his sons that they were all right, because they each had seen but only one season in the tree's life. He told them that they cannot judge a tree or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are -- the pleasure, the joy and love that come from that life -- can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.

Don't judge a life by one difficult season.

There was a man. He had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things to go and look at a pear tree that was far away.

The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, the youngest son in fall. When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.

If you give up when it is winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, the fulfillment of your fall. Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest.

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent and weak. The second son said no -- it was covered with green buds and full of promise. The third son said it was laden with blossoms and they smelt so sweet and looked so beautiful. The last son disagreed with all of them, he said it was ripe and droop with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.