The Fox Without a Tail

There was once a fox whose tail got caught in a hunter’s trap. To save its life, it reluctantly had to abandon its tail.

The fox became a fox without a tail. For a long time, it avoided other foxes, afraid that they would mock it for having no tail.

But hiding forever wasn’t a solution. After thinking hard, the fox came up with an idea: if other foxes had no tails like me, they wouldn’t make fun of it.

But how could it convince the other foxes to lose their tails too?

The fox gathered all the other foxes and gave a speech: “Ladies and gentlemen, I have something important to discuss, something that concerns our lives. Have you ever noticed that our big tails often put us in danger? Some were caught by hunters because their tails were trapped in snares, and some can’t run fast enough to escape due to their heavy tails. And humans, they hunt us because they prize our large tails. So, for our safety, I propose we all cut off our tails!”

An old fox, smiling, said, “Mr. Fox, your speech is brilliant, but if you would kindly turn around, we’ll understand your real motive.”

When the fox turned around, it heard the others burst into laughter. It knew that no matter what it said, it wouldn’t convince the others to cut off their tails.

This story teaches us not to listen to those who try to bring you down to their level.