On the prairie, there was a fox who, though young, had learned to be a wicked older man with a sour stomach. On the other hand, a wolf had just made his debut and knew nothing.
One day, when the fox saw a horse for the first time in his life, he wanted to hit on the horse, but he was afraid of being cheated. So he found the wolf and said, “Go and see, there is an animal eating grass in our meadow! It is tall and handsome, and it makes my heart happy now to see it.”
“Is it more robust than we are?” The wolf smiled, “I ask you to give me a brief description of what it looks like.”
“If I were a man of letters,” said the fox, “I would first describe your joy at seeing it. But you’d better hurry up and come with me, for you know that perhaps this prey is destined to belong to us!” So the wolf followed the fox and ran with him toward the meadow.
The horse, which was grazing on the grass, showed no interest in the two unwanted guests and tried to pull out his legs and go away. At that moment, the fox hurried up to the horse and said, “Master, your humble servant would like to know what people call you.”
The horse, no idle man, replied, “Gentlemen, you can see my name, my shoemaker has put it on my palm.”
The fox hastened to excuse his low culture, adding, “My parents did not allow me to have a single education, and my family was so poor that all they had was a cave. The wolf’s parents, on the other hand, are both well-known people, and they have given the wolf a good education.”
The wolf heard the compliment and immediately came forward to see the name that hit the horse’s paw; however, its vanity cost it four teeth. It turned out that the horse raised its hoof high and kicked the wolf in the chin, and the wolf covered its injured mouth and fled with its tail between its legs.
After listening to the words of a stranger, you should think carefully and distinguish the purpose and intention of his words, and never be driven by others’ comments to do something foolish. To deal with people in the world, you should be sincere. However, it would be best if you did not casually believe in strangers’ words; otherwise, you may also meet with the fate of wolves.
