It's hard to win a real friend, but it's easy to lose a friend

 Part of the friendship story from my first book. Max arrived in the next Kingdom and stayed in the nearest village near the castle in the house where a wise man had been living. In the evening, the host gave him a meal and showed him the bedding where he could sleep. In the morning, when he woke up, Max saw that he had a breakfast, and after he washed, he sat down to eat. The old man was sating in front of his house and had been watching how the sun was shining over the horizon. Max had just finished his breakfast and sat down next to the old man to thank him before to continue his travel. During this time a young man came to the old man for advice and asked him the following interesting question:

-I'd like to know how many friends a person should have. I thought a lot about the proverb: "it's better to have a hundred friends, than a hundred gold coins.“ There is some truth with it, but in my opinion, if he tries to get as many friends as possible, we can become insincere people with false feelings. Moreover, friendship is tested by time... once you meet someone, it is very difficult to understand who he/she really is, and where to find the strength and time for a hundred friends.

-I can answer you. - said the sage, - I would rather help you understand the answer by yourself. Do you see this huge apple tree in the yard? I want to ask you to bring me an apple from the top.

The man looked up, squint his eyes from the hard sun, and asked:

-But how do I do it? The apple is actually very high.

-Ask your friend to help you. Perhaps together you can reach the highest branch of the tree. – said the old man.

So the man did it. He went and took his friends, they started climbing on each other shoulders, but it didn't help to climb the tree.