He spent his life wielding his axe <br />In the hilly region of the Nilgiris <br />Cutting wood to pay for his food <br />And that of his growing brood <br />His home was the one place <br />Where a hungry child was assured of solace <br />The numbers kept growing as the word spread <br />About his generous heart and his tasty bread <br />Till one day when at the break of dawn <br />The woodcutter's pickaxe was not heard <br />The news spread like wild fire <br />And the villagers rushed in to enquire <br />To their consternation there lay before them <br />The tired old man lay slumped over his pickaxe <br />Although no more trees or wood would he fell <br />He left behind a beautiful tale for villagers to tell<br /><br />Sandra Martyres<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-old-man-and-the-pickaxe/
