It happened that a Fox caught its tail in a trap, and in struggling to
release himself lost all of it but the stump. At first he was ashamed
to show himself among his fellow foxes. But at last he determined to
put a bolder face upon his misfortune, and summoned all the foxes to a
general meeting to consider a proposal which he had to place before
them. When they had assembled together the Fox proposed that they
should all do away with their tails. He pointed out how inconvenient a
tail was when they were pursued by their enemies, the dogs; how much it
was in the way when they desired to sit down and hold a friendly
conversation with one another. He failed to see any advantage in
carrying about such a useless encumbrance. “That is all very well,”
said one of the older foxes; “but I do not think you would have
recommended us to dispense with our chief ornament if you had not
happened to lose it yourself.”
Distrust interested advice.