The Fox Without a Tail

One morning, a fox was strolling through the forest when it accidentally stepped into a hunter's trap. It struggled with all its might and broke free, but its beautiful bushy tail stayed caught in the trap and was lost.

The fox felt so embarrassed to be without a tail like the other foxes. It hid inside a hollow log for days, too afraid to face anyone, trying to think of a way to feel better about itself.

At last it came out and called all the other foxes together. "Friends," it announced loudly, "tails are nothing but trouble — they get in the way when we walk and make it hard to hide. Let's all cut ours off and be light and free like me!"

The other foxes hesitated, until a wise old fox asked gently, "Are you telling us to cut off our tails because they're really such trouble — or because you want everyone else to be tailless just like you?"

The tailless fox went quiet for a moment, then admitted it was true — it had only wanted to feel better about itself. So the other foxes kept their tails, and instead gathered around to comfort their friend, without anyone needing to change to fit in.

Don't accept someone's advice without thinking it through yourself, especially when the person giving it might have a hidden reason of their own.