One early morning, a nice red-brown fox who had been hunting all night, jumped over a low bush when-bing! bing! bing! snap!-
he got his tall
caught in a strap. He gave a loud bark of anger and terror, and fought and pulled and managed to get free- but left his tail behind.
It was painful enough but what was even more dreadful was the thought of what the others foxes would think of him when they saw him without a tail-like seeing a man without any hair.
He sat thinking and licking his wounds and wondering how he could solve this problem with the others and suddenly got an idea... He sent out invitations to all the foxes in the neighborhood to come to a very special meeting. Well, they all came together and sat around in a ring on their haunches, listening to the tailless fox lecture them on the uselessness and ugliness and trouble of having a big bushy tail.
"Of what use ist to us?" he began. "We can''t wag it like a dog. We don''t chase flies away with it like a cow or horse. In fact a tail can get you caught in a trap and cost your life. I think it would improve our appearance if we cut off our tails without delay."
Some of the foxes listened to him gravely, with their cunning eyes squinting at him, and their little sharp noses turned to one side. But one crafty old
fellow slipped behind the lecturer and had a good look at his back. Then he came back to announce his discovery.
"Listen, you wise foxes. This fellow has lost his tail and so now he wants us to cut ours off to be like him. Don''t be stupid."