How Bear Lost His Tail

Bear sat with his back to the hole and dropped his long, bushy tail into the frigid water. From a distance, Fox watched to be sure that Bear was doing exactly what he had been told. When he saw that Bear was sitting quietly, Fox sneaked back to his house and went to bed.

The next morning when Fox woke up, he wondered if Bear was still sitting on the ice. He decided to go and check. When Fox reached the ice-covered river, there was Bear lying on the ice, completely covered with snow. He had fallen asleep while waiting for Fox to shout. He was snoring so loudly the ice was shaking. It was so funny that Fox rolled on the ice, laughing.

Fox decided it was time to wake Bear. He crept very close, took a deep breath and shouted: "Now Bear!"

Bear woke. Startled, he jumped to his feet and pulled his long tail as hard as he could. He did not realize that overnight, his tail had been caught in the ice when it froze. When he pulled, his tail broke off - SNAP!

"Oh, my beautiful tail," Bear moaned. Bear was angry. He turned to Fox, growling, but Fox was running away, laughing.

To this very day, Bear has a short tail. He remembers how Fox tricked him and how he lost his beautiful, bushy tail.

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