断尾的狐狸

    A FOX caught in a trap escaped, but in so doing lost his tail.  Thereafter, feeling his life a burden from the shame and ridicule to which he was exposed, he schemed to convince all the other Foxes that being tailless was much more attractive, thus making up for his own deprivation.  He assembled a good many Foxes and publicly advised them to cut off their tails, saying that they would not only look much better without them, but that they would get rid of the weight of the brush, which was a very great inconvenience.  One of them interrupting him said, "If you had not yourself lost your tail, my friend, you would not thus counsel us."

       一只狐狸被捕兽器把尾巴夹断了。受了这种耻辱以后，他觉得自己脸上无光，生活很不好过，所以他决定劝说其他狐狸也去掉尾巴，大家都一样了，他的缺点就可以掩饰过去了。于是他召集了所有狐狸，劝说他们割去尾巴，他信口雌黄地说尾巴既不雅观，又使我们拖着一件笨重的东西，是多余的负担。有一只狐狸站起来说：“喂，朋友，如果这不是于你有利，你就不会这样煞费苦心地来劝说我们了。”
       这故事适用于那些不是出于好意，而是为了自己利益而劝告他人的人。