Skip to content

The Oak and the Reeds; The Fir and the Bramble

Crane, Walter, 1900, Publisher's print
The Oak and the Reeds; The Fir and the Bramble
The Oak and the Reeds; The Fir and the Bramble
The Oak and the Reeds; The Fir and the Bramble
Share
Category
Library Item
Item no
40058
Title
The Oak and the Reeds; The Fir and the Bramble. Illustrated page from 'Baby's Own Aesop'
Description
An oak tree, with anthropomorphic legs, braces itself against the wind and the water's current. In the foreground, reeds bend in the opposite direction. The rhyme is to the right, its edges shaped with leaf designs and blowing towards the oak and the reeds:
"The Oak and the Reeds

Giant oak, in his strength and his scorn
Of the winds, by the roots was uptorn:
But slim reeds at his side,
The fierce gale did outride,
Since, by bending the burden was borne.

Bend not break."

In the lower half of the page, an axe is propped up in the brambles against the right hand edge of the picture while behind it stand the trunks of two fir trees. The rhyme reads:
"The Fir and the Bramble

The fir-tree looked down on the bramble.
"Poor thing, only able to scramble
About on the ground."
Just then an axe' sound
Made the fir wish himself but a bramble.

Pride of place has its disadvantages."
Artist / maker
Date
1900
Size
17.8 x 18.8 cm
Location
Art and Design Library
Rights and purchasing
Option
Price
Digital FileElectronic file 72 dpi JPEG​
£7.32(inc. VAT 20%)
Digital FileElectronic File 300 dpi TIFF​
£37.20(inc. VAT 20%)
You can view and use digital images for personal and educational use. For more information, read our policy on image use. If you wish to use our images for commercial use, please contact us.