The lawyer came out of his house after a noisy storm and hearing the wind blowing hard all night. He noticed for the first time the way a huge tree was leaning. With another storm forecast by the weather experts, he was afraid that the tree would fall on his house.

He looked in the Yellow Pages for a Tree Surgeon, Woodcutter or Tree Removal Specialist and called a sawyer living on the other side of town.

The sawyer, ready for work, came with his truck loaded with tools, and saw how the tree leaned one way, but was top-loaded with its full growth of summer leaves.

The lawyer said, “Can you chop this tree down so it will fall onto the driveway or the front lawn and not fall on my house?”

Looking up at the tree, the sawyer said,” I can drop the tree so that it will not fall on your house, but will fall beside it, between the house and the garage, and not onto the driveway or the front lawn.”

The lawyer looked again at how the tree was leaning and said, “I insist that you drop it on the driveway, away from the house. It will be easier for you to carry off the remains. That too is easy to see.”

The sawyer shook his head, and replied, “That is not the easy way, the way you want it done. It is too dangerous. The tree is over-balanced on one side and will fall that way.”

“My good man,” the lawyer said, “I can see the tree is leaning this way,” and he pointed toward his house. “I do not want it to fall on my house. I will write out and sign a contract that you will cut the tree the way I propose.” Will that be sufficient protection for you, absolving you of any blame? And I will prepay you the amount we agree on, all so stated in the contract.”

The lawyer felt like he was in court again, in control.

“Yes,” the sawyer finally said, at length bothered by the lawyer’s stubbornness. “I will drop it as you direct, with no question as to the outcome.”

The lawyer, with great speed and to stay ahead of the forthcoming storm, drew up and signed the contract, and gave a copy to the sawyer along with the prescribed payment.

The lawyer pointed at the side of the tree trunk where it leaned and said, “Make your first cut here, away from the house, and then cut it from the other side.”

The sawyer said, “As you say, sir.” He cut a V into the trunk with his chain saw, pulled out the wedge he had cut, and began to saw the trunk from the other side of the V cut. It went swiftly, the second cut, and the tree fell on top of the lawyer’s house.

Sometimes a different venue is too far afield even for sworn experts, or pride comes before the fall.