The Singing Scoutmaster: Bald Man And The Forest, The

There was an old man who lived by a beautiful forest, full of healthy trees. As he grew older and older, he started losing his hair, until one day, at the very end of his life, he was completely bald. He called his children to a meeting while he lay on his deathbed.

"Look at my hair," he said. It used to be so magnificent, but now it's completely gone."

"My hair can't be saved," he went on. "But look outside at the forest. It's such a lovely forest with so many trees. But sooner or later they will all be cut down, and then this forest will look as bald as my hair."

"What I want you to do," the man continued, "is plant a new tree in my memory every time one is cut down or dies. Tell your descendants to do the same. It shall be our family's duty to keep this forest strong."

And so that is what they did. Each time the forest lost a tree, his children replanted one. And so did their children, and their children after them.

And for centuries, the forest remained as lush and pretty as it once was. All because of one man and his re-seeding heir-line.