The fox without his tail

Once there lived a fox. He was a very curious animal. The
fox spent most of his time wondering what the other animals
were doing. The older foxes in his pack warned him, “Don’t be
so inquisitive. You will get into trouble this way,” they said .
But the fox would just not listen.

There was a time when the fox was almost trampled to death by an
elephant. He was trying to find out how elephants drank water from
their trunks. Time passed and the fox’s curiosity grew. One day,
while wandering in the forest, he saw a trap laid out by hunters to
catch animals. The fox had never seen anything like this before.

“This is something unusual. There is even a piece of bread inside,”
said the fox. The piece of bread was planted by the animals . The
fox stepped into the trap to get the bread. As soon as the fox had
got into the trap, the two jaws snapped shut. The fox got a start
and jumped out. However, his tail got caught between the two jaws
of the trap.

“Oh, what a mess I’ve got into. Now I’d better free myself before
somebody sees me,” thought the fox. He held on to a branch of a
tree and pulled. He heard a snapping sound. His tail had come off.
The fox was free but his tail got cut off. The fox was very worried.
He knew all the other animals would make fun of him when they saw
he had no tail. “I better think of some story. Otherwise I will be
the laughing stock of the jungle,” he thought

Suddenly he had an idea. “I will tell the other animals I cut my tail
off deliberately. That way they cannot make fun of me. In fact I
will ask the other foxes to cut off their tails too,” said the fox. So,
when he reached the forest, he called out to all the other foxes.
“Listen, I have something interesting to tell you all. Please gather
around,” said the fox.

The other foxes noticed that the fox had no tail. They wanted to
hear why the fox had no tail. So they quickly gathered around.
When all the foxes had gathered around, the fox asked, “Have you
all realized what a nuisance our tails are ?” “No,” replied the other
foxes promptly.

“Well, they are. Can you imagine the number of
times you would have been caught by the village
dog ?If we had no tails we might have escaped,”
said the fox.

The fox continued, “Have you noticed, when we
foxes sit to talk each other, how our tails get in
the way? So I have cut my tail and request all of
you to cut off your tails too,” said the fox with a
smile.

One of the elder foxes who sat listening said, “Are you
telling us this because you have lost your tail ?I am sure
an inquisitive fellow like you must have lost your tail in a
trap. Don’t try to fool us.” The fox felt concerned. The
other foxes laughed at him. He ran into the forest never
to return again.

MORAL VALUE

Distrust the advice of someone who is too
keen !

QUIZ

1.What did the other foxes warned the fox ?
2.What did the fox saw in the forest ?
3.How did the fox got his tail cut off ?
4. Why did the fox gathered the other foxes ?
5.Why did the fox asked the other foxes to cut off their tails ?
6.What is the moral of the story ?
7. Why do you think the fox ran into the forest and never

came back again ?

PREPARED BY TEACHER PRIYA