--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The native calls the baobab 'the devil…" description: "\"“The native calls the baobab 'the devil tree' because he claims that the devil, getting tangled in its branches, punished by the tree by reversing it. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d4/jerzy-kosi-ski-6296_trees_the-native-calls-the-baobab-the-devil-tr_1491901.jpg" --- # The native calls the baobab 'the devil tree' because he… ![“The native calls the baobab 'the devil tree' because he claims that the devil, getting tangled in its branches, punished by the tree by reversing it. To the native, the roots are branches now, and the branches are roots. To ensure that there would be no more baobabs, the devil destroyed all the…” quote by Jerzy Kosiński](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d4/jerzy-kosi-ski-6296_trees_the-native-calls-the-baobab-the-devil-tr_1491901.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d4/jerzy-kosi-ski-6296_trees_the-native-calls-the-baobab-the-devil-tr_1491901.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d4/jerzy-kosi-ski-6296_trees_the-native-calls-the-baobab-the-devil-tr_1491901.jpg) > ““The native calls the baobab 'the devil tree' because he claims that the devil, getting tangled in its branches, punished by the tree by reversing it. To the native, the roots are branches now, and the branches are roots. To ensure that there would be no more baobabs, the devil destroyed all the young ones.”” [Jerzy Kosiński](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerzy-kosi-ski/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The tale warns that misperception can invert reality, leading to destructive actions based on fear and misunderstanding. **In simple terms:** Seeing things wrong can cause harm. Key Takeaway Question assumptions before acting. Themes perception myth consequences fear nature Mood cautious reflective Type cautionary mythical When to use this quote - environmental policy - personal relationships - cultural exchange - education - conflict resolution Key Concepts cognitive bias symbolism mythology Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions shape your view of nature? - How can we correct misperceptions without fear? A Different Perspective The story may oversimplify complex ecological issues, ignoring scientific perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Baobab Devil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baobab-devil-5452834/) [Baobabs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baobabs-1870884/) [Baobabs Devil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baobabs-devil-5452833/) [Calls Baobab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calls-baobab-5452836/) [Devil Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devil-tree-5452835/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) [Young ones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-ones/) ## Related quotes > [“Children,” I say plainly, “watch out for the baobabs!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/children-i-say-plainly-watch-out-for-the-baobabs/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [“When I made the drawing of the baobabs I was carried beyond myself by the inspiring force of urgent necessity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/when-i-made-the-drawing-of-the-baobabs-i-was-carried-beyond-myself-by/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [“Baobabs, before they grow big, start off small.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/baobabs-before-they-grow-big-start-off-small/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [“Watch out for the Baobabs!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/watch-out-for-the-baobabs/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [It's a question of discipline,' the little prince told me later on. 'when you've finished washing and dressing each morning, you must tend your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/it-s-a-question-of-discipline-the-little-prince-told-me-later-on-when/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [“Before they grow so big, the baobabs start out by being little.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/before-they-grow-so-big-the-baobabs-start-out-by-being-little/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [I used to draw comics a lot. I was obsessed with 'The Young Ones,' and was massively into video games, although I was no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-brooker/i-used-to-draw-comics-a-lot-i-was-obsessed-with-the-young-ones-and/) [Charlie Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-brooker/) > [“This is so boring. I might as well be listening to Genesis." -- Rik Mayall, The Young Ones”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-a-miller/this-is-so-boring-i-might-as-well-be-listening-to-genesis-rik-mayall/) [Maureen A. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-a-miller/) > [“And modern houses don't have passages, either, for children to play and run about in, and for dogs, umbrellas, coats and satchels. And don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-duras/and-modern-houses-don-t-have-passages-either-for-children-to-play-and/) [Marguerite Duras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-duras/) > [“He wondered what his face would say. What would others find there? He wondered when those still left on the other side, the young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darius-jones/he-wondered-what-his-face-would-say-what-would-others-find-there-he/) [Darius Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darius-jones/) > [Youth is not an essential, but rather an accidental property. Nobody is in essence young. One either ceases to be or ceases to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/youth-is-not-an-essential-but-rather-an-accidental-property-nobody-is/) [Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/) > [Birds and animals in the wild migrate every year to safer and nurturing pastures, leaving behind the old environment. After nurturing their young ones,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amala-akkineni/birds-and-animals-in-the-wild-migrate-every-year-to-safer-and/) [Amala Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amala-akkineni/) > [You love young ones and babes, I know this. The young will always befriend and admire you...all the young ones of the earth belong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-jacques/you-love-young-ones-and-babes-i-know-this-the-young-will-always/) [Brian Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-jacques/) > [We come unbidden into this life, and if we are lucky we find a purpose beyond starvation, misery, and early death which, lest we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/we-come-unbidden-into-this-life-and-if-we-are-lucky-we-find-a-purpose/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [“But if you will not take this Counsel, and persist in thinking a Commerce with the Sex inevitable, then I repeat my former Advice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/but-if-you-will-not-take-this-counsel-and-persist-in-thinking-a/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) ## More by Jerzy Kosiński > [“There should be no promise of a plot. Plot is extraordinary, while chance is ordinary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerzy-kosi-ski/there-should-be-no-promise-of-a-plot-plot-is-extraordinary-while/) [Jerzy Kosiński](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerzy-kosi-ski/) > [I look back into past history, the stored experiences or products of the imagination. I look no further forward than the evening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerzy-kosi-ski/i-look-back-into-past-history-the-stored-experiences-or-products-of/) [Jerzy Kosinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerzy-kosi-ski/) > [“He had found the one calm place in the midst of the storm, a quiet voice calling him to earth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerzy-kosi-ski/he-had-found-the-one-calm-place-in-the-midst-of-the-storm-a-quiet/) [Jerzy Kosiński](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerzy-kosi-ski/) > [“When I saw them in Africa, I thought these birds were the greatest fliers of all. Hardly beating their wings, they fly for hours,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerzy-kosi-ski/when-i-saw-them-in-africa-i-thought-these-birds-were-the-greatest/) [Jerzy Kosiński](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerzy-kosi-ski/) > [“That's why she keeps her nails long, she says, to be able to scratch and claw.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerzy-kosi-ski/that-s-why-she-keeps-her-nails-long-she-says-to-be-able-to-scratch/) [Jerzy Kosiński](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerzy-kosi-ski/) > [Travel gives me the opportunity to walk through the sectors of cities where one can clearly see the passage of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerzy-kosi-ski/travel-gives-me-the-opportunity-to-walk-through-the-sectors-of-cities/) [Jerzy Kosinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerzy-kosi-ski/) > [Going around under an umbrella interferes with one's looking up at the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerzy-kosi-ski/going-around-under-an-umbrella-interferes-with-one-s-looking-up-at/) [Jerzy Kosinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerzy-kosi-ski/) > [“Against the background of bland colors he projected an unfadable blackness. In a world of men with harrowed faces, with smashed eyes, bloody, bruised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerzy-kosi-ski/against-the-background-of-bland-colors-he-projected-an-unfadable/) [Jerzy Kosinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerzy-kosi-ski/) > [You don't die in the United States, you underachieve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerzy-kosi-ski/you-don-t-die-in-the-united-states-you-underachieve/) [Jerzy Kosinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerzy-kosi-ski/) > [Mapplethorpe presented the body as a sexual object, separating it from the humanity of the person. He added nothing to photography as a medium.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerzy-kosi-ski/mapplethorpe-presented-the-body-as-a-sexual-object-separating-it-from/) [Jerzy Kosinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerzy-kosi-ski/) > [Banks introduced the installment plan. The disappearance of cash and the coming of the credit card changed the shape of life in the United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerzy-kosi-ski/banks-introduced-the-installment-plan-the-disappearance-of-cash-and/) [Jerzy Kosinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerzy-kosi-ski/) > [I always have a sense of trembling, but so does a compass, after all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerzy-kosi-ski/i-always-have-a-sense-of-trembling-but-so-does-a-compass-after-all/) [Jerzy Kosinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerzy-kosi-ski/) > [“As a boy I got the idea that death was an animal which lay curled inside waiting to swallow us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerzy-kosi-ski/as-a-boy-i-got-the-idea-that-death-was-an-animal-which-lay-curled/) [Jerzy Kosiński](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerzy-kosi-ski/) > [Lovers are not snails; they don't have to protrude from their shells and meet each other halfway. Meet me within your own self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerzy-kosi-ski/lovers-are-not-snails-they-don-t-have-to-protrude-from-their-shells/) [Jerzy Kosinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerzy-kosi-ski/) > [I am curious about grownups, not children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerzy-kosi-ski/i-am-curious-about-grownups-not-children/) [Jerzy Kosinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerzy-kosi-ski/) [Explore all 99 Jerzy Kosiński quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerzy-kosi-ski/) ## More Trees quotes > [I loved the game so much that even though our playing field was muddy and we had many trees on it, I used to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-clemente/i-loved-the-game-so-much-that-even-though-our-playing-field-was-muddy/) [Roberto Clemente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-clemente/) > [Sometimes it's about less is more. It's about the seed. Thinking about this gigantic tree that you think is so beautiful but it started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-durst/sometimes-it-s-about-less-is-more-it-s-about-the-seed-thinking-about/) [Fred Durst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-durst/) > [“Sitting at the old patio table she’d cleared of leaves, she smiled and leaned back. The stars looked twisted in the limbs of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/sitting-at-the-old-patio-table-she-d-cleared-of-leaves-she-smiled-and/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [A tree is a self: it is 'unseen shaping' more than it is leaves or bark, roots or cellulose or fruit ... What this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/a-tree-is-a-self-it-is-unseen-shaping-more-than-it-is-leaves-or-bark/) [Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) > [Suddenly a mist of green on the trees, as quiet as thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-richardson/suddenly-a-mist-of-green-on-the-trees-as-quiet-as-thought/) [Dorothy Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-richardson/) > [“a crime to fell a tree and light it on fire, where coals of hardened shit warmed and stunk up homes,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/a-crime-to-fell-a-tree-and-light-it-on-fire-where-coals-of-hardened/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“Nevermore Tree was gargantuan, a word which here means 'having attained an inordinate amount of botanical volume.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/nevermore-tree-was-gargantuan-a-word-which-here-means-having-attained/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“Sentinels of trees breathe life into bodies of earthly flesh As their mighty arms reach to the stars we join in their quest for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramon-ravenswood/sentinels-of-trees-breathe-life-into-bodies-of-earthly-flesh-as-their/) [Ramon Ravenswood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramon-ravenswood/) > [You could be the leaf that never falls from the tree you could be the sun that never leaves the sky this might be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-could-be-the-leaf-that-never-falls-from-the-tree-you-could-be-the/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [The problem with drinking and driving is that trees defend themselves very well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-problem-with-drinking-and-driving-is-that-trees-defend-themselves/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [I liked climbing trees and could often be found up one reading a book. I played games with Dad and drew maps for him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhianna-pratchett/i-liked-climbing-trees-and-could-often-be-found-up-one-reading-a-book/) [Rhianna Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhianna-pratchett/) > [You never quite know what you do in life that leaves a seed behind that grows into an oak tree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/you-never-quite-know-what-you-do-in-life-that-leaves-a-seed-behind/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [During my first years in the Sierra, I was ever calling on everybody within reach to admire them, but I found no one half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/during-my-first-years-in-the-sierra-i-was-ever-calling-on-everybody/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [He removed several pages of death certificates, which were picked up by another breeze and sent into the trees. Some would fall with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/he-removed-several-pages-of-death-certificates-which-were-picked-up/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) [Browse all 5,290 Trees quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The native calls the baobab 'the devil tree' because he claims that the devil, getting tangled in its branches, punished by the tree by reversing it. To the native, the roots are branches now, and the branches are roots. 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