The Fox Without a Tail

A fox, caught in a hunter's trap, escaped only by leaving his entire tail behind, and was deeply ashamed to face the other foxes without it, certain he would be mocked and pitied for the rest of his life.

Rather than accept the loss quietly, he called a gathering of every fox in the forest and delivered an impassioned speech, insisting that tails were actually a heavy, useless burden — they collected burrs, dragged through mud, and gave hunters something extra to grab hold of. He urged every fox present to cut off his own tail immediately, for the sake of comfort and safety.

One older, wiser fox listened patiently to the whole speech, then asked a single question: "Tell me honestly, would you be giving us this passionate advice if you still had your own tail?" The fox, caught, had no answer, and the gathered foxes, understanding the true motive behind the advice, kept their tails and returned to their dens, having learned to be wary of advice from someone with a personal reason to want everyone else to match their own loss.