There lived a hunter near a jungle. His business was to kill the wild animals and destroy the forest. So one day as his usual wont, he set out on his mission of increasing his own sins. On his way he came across a huge grizzly bear walking along like a huge mountain. He had no hesitation in hitting the animal with a sharp arrow. The arrow was perhaps not strong enough to kill the animal immediately, so it only wounded him. The wounded bear attacked the hunter mortally. But the arrow had found some vital organ of the beast and before long it also succumbed to its injury. The man and the animal, the hunter and the hunted, lay side-by-side, peaceful in death.

But there was a claimant to the flesh. A fox came along and seeing a man and a bear lying dead, he danced with jubilation. The resource crunch for him was a story of the past for so many days. He enjoyed it very well. Once his celebration was over, he engaged his attention to the business at hand. He was planning how he should utilize the available resources optimally. The bodies of the man and the beast were very fresh in death and would last for sometime.

Now there was a string used to tie the two ends of the bow of the hunter tautly. This string was made from the raw skin of some animal that the hunter had managed to kill, and even contained small pieces of flesh sticking to it. The fox thought, "Like consuming elixir, the wealth should be enjoyed slowly and steadily. Then alone there will be benefit in the long term." So he decided to eat the leather string attached to the bow. Accordingly, he nibbled at the top knot of the string at the upper end of the bow, and after a few bites, the tie got loose, and the bow simply shot up piercing the upper jaw of the fox and emerged from the head of the fox, giving the fox an extra tuft at the time of his death. The greed not only killed the fox, but it also gave him the honor of dying with a tuft.

We can see the disciples of the fox in everyday life in dozens. Many people would try to relish the smallest amount of sweetness by licking the paper covering the chocolate bar even after eating the real one. All such persons deserve a special tuft.

THE END