There once lived a mother bear. She was known for bragging about her deeds and actions. The other animals in the kingdom were fed up with the bear’s habit of saying something and doing something else. One fine afternoon, they held a secret meeting to decide on a plan to expose the bear. The animals discussed for hours, but no one could come up with a concrete plan. A couple of plans seemed feasible, but no one volunteered to tell the bear on her face and, so, those plans were dropped. Dusk fell, and the animals decided to call it a day. Just as they were dispersing, the mother bear appeared. “What’s happening, folks? Did someone fall ill?” she asked. “Uhm, no. We were having a meeting to discuss a way to stop the humans from felling the trees north of the forest,” a parrot said. “And, Mrs. Bear, we couldn’t invite you to the meeting because we thought you would be busy with the cubs,” a chipmunk chipped in. “Oh, I wouldn’t dare do anything stupid. After all, they are our masters,” the bear said. None of the animals uttered a word. Taking the silence as a sign that they have all agreed to what she had said, the bear continued, “In fact, I have huge regard for the humans. I wouldn’t even touch the dead body of a human.” Hearing this, a fox remarked sarcastically, “Wouldn’t it be better if you eat the dead and not the living?” This caught the bear off guard, and she blushed, grinned, mumbled something to herself, and left the place. The animals winked at the fox, thanking him for doing the impossible. Moral of the story Practice what you preach.
