A brown bear in Finland (Image found on Google)
Have you ever wondered why bears have little tails? Well, the ancient Finns did, and here's what they came up with.
How did the bear lose his tail?
"Once upon a time a fisherman was travelling down the road with a large barrel of fish in his sleigh. He met a fox. The cunning fox threw himself on the road and pretended he was dead. The fisherman spotted the dead fox and put him in the fish barrel. But the fox began to throw the fish onto the road right away. As soon as the barrel was empty, he jumped out of the barrel and off the sleigh. Then he rushed back down the road and collected all the fish.
As soon as he had collected all the fish he met a bear. The bear asked:
'How did you manage to get so much fish?'
The fox answered:
' I did some angling.'
When can you catch this much fish? asked the bear.
The fox advised him:
' You must go fishing when the stars are shining bright in the sky. That's when you need to stick your tail in a hole in the ice and keep it there until it feels like the fish have grabbed it. When it feels like you have enough fish holding onto your tail, pull it out in one swift move. That's how you'll catch a lot of fish.'
The gullible bear did exactly as advised by the cunning fox. When he saw a lot of stars in the sky he sat on top of a hole in the ice and put his tail in. When it felt as if there were a lot of fish holding onto his tail he pulled it out in one swift move. But the bear's tail was frozen solid in the ice and when he pulled the tail broke off. The tingling in his tail had not been fish but the frost.
From that day onward the bear has not had a tail."
As soon as he had collected all the fish he met a bear. The bear asked:
'How did you manage to get so much fish?'
The fox answered:
' I did some angling.'
When can you catch this much fish? asked the bear.
The fox advised him:
' You must go fishing when the stars are shining bright in the sky. That's when you need to stick your tail in a hole in the ice and keep it there until it feels like the fish have grabbed it. When it feels like you have enough fish holding onto your tail, pull it out in one swift move. That's how you'll catch a lot of fish.'
The gullible bear did exactly as advised by the cunning fox. When he saw a lot of stars in the sky he sat on top of a hole in the ice and put his tail in. When it felt as if there were a lot of fish holding onto his tail he pulled it out in one swift move. But the bear's tail was frozen solid in the ice and when he pulled the tail broke off. The tingling in his tail had not been fish but the frost.
From that day onward the bear has not had a tail."
~Ally
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