Why the Bear Is Stumpy-Tailed

Why the Bear Is Stumpy-Tailed

Long, long ago, when animals could still speak like people, a great Bear lived in a northern forest. He was strong, good-natured, and a little too trusting. Not far away lived a Fox—quick, clever, and always ready to think up a prank.

One winter’s day, Bear met Fox on a snowy path. Fox was dragging a whole string of fish behind him. They glittered in the frosty sunlight, and just looking at them made Bear feel terribly hungry.

“Wow! Where did you catch all those fish?” Bear asked.

Fox proudly lifted his muzzle.

“Oh, it was easy. I went fishing.”

“Fishing?” Bear sat down in surprise. “Will you teach me?”

Fox narrowed his eyes. He immediately thought of a little joke to play on his friend.

“Why not? Listen carefully. Go to the lake and find a hole in the ice. Put your tail in the water and sit very, very still. When your tail feels heavy, that means plenty of fish have gathered around it. Then pull it out quickly.”

Bear was delighted.

“That’s all?”

“That’s all,” Fox nodded solemnly.

Bear trudged to the lake. Frost chimed across the white expanse, and the snow crunched beneath his paws: crunch, crunch, crunch.

In the middle of the lake, he found a hole in the ice, settled beside it, and carefully lowered his tail into the cold water.

At first it was only chilly. Then it grew very cold.

“The fish must be swimming up,” Bear thought, rubbing his paws together.

Time passed. The frost grew sharper. A thin layer of ice began to form around the edge of the hole.

Bear’s tail felt heavy.

“What a catch!” he rejoiced. “There must be a whole bucketful of fish down there!”

Bear waited a little longer. At last, he decided he had enough.

“One, two, three!”

He sprang to his feet.

But his tail would not budge. It was frozen firmly to the edge of the hole.

“So much for the fish!” Bear grumbled.

He tugged gently. Nothing.

He tugged harder. The ice crackled.

Then Bear planted all four paws and gave one mighty pull. The edge of the ice broke apart, Bear tumbled across the snow, and after that adventure his tail was much shorter.

Bear lay on his back for a long while, gazing up at the winter sky.

“Fishing, was it…” he muttered.

Then he got up, shook the snow from his fur, and set off to find Fox.

Fox spotted him from far away and knew at once that his trick had been discovered.

“Well, was it a good catch?” he asked cautiously.

Bear gave him a very serious look.

“Next time, my friend Fox, when you want to teach me to fish, you can show me how it’s done yourself.”

Fox scratched his ear.

“Fair enough.”

From then on, Bear became a little more careful and no longer believed every clever bit of advice he heard. And in the old folktale, people still say that bears have short tails because of that winter fishing trip.

So if you ever happen to see a bear, remember: sometimes it is best to learn not only from what others say, but from your own good sense, too.

May this story leave a little light in your heart ✨