The Generous Fox and the Wolf
Once upon a time, in the depths of an ancient forest that stretched under the shade of lush hornbeam trees, there lived a fox and a wolf. The dappled fox, famed for his cunning, knew very well how to overcome every obstacle with his sweet tongue whenever he was in trouble. The greedy and coarse wolf of the forest, however, chased after his prey not with his wits but only with brute force. On a cool autumn morning when the wind made the leaves dance with a whisper, the paths of these two age-old neighbours crossed in a deep valley. The hungry wolf rubbed his eyes in astonishment when he saw the plump and roasted pieces of meat lying before the fox. When the fox saw the imposing shadow of the approaching wolf, he smiled with great courtesy without losing his composure at all.
He offered, "Welcome, my dear friend, will you not join this splendid feast of mine?" The astonished wolf growled, "Will you really share so many delicious morsels with me for no reason at all?" Puffing out his chest, the fox answered, "I am a generous and magnanimous benefactor who loves to share." The wolf fell upon the table with a great appetite and swallowed the delicious meats offered to him almost in a single breath. Just at that moment, the rumble and the footsteps of angry hunters with clubs in their hands rose from among the bushes. It turned out that the fox had secretly stolen the villagers' food sack and, in fear of being caught, was trying to cover up his crime.
While the cunning fox cowered among the bushes, the hunters suddenly surrounded the wolf who was eating the meats with relish. The poor wolf, bewildered at what had befallen him, got his share of the hunters' clubs and barely managed to escape from there. The wolf, who had saved his life with great difficulty, climbed the hill out of breath and reached the tree hollow where the fox was hiding. He cried out in anger, "You threw me into the fire, and it turns out that food was not even yours!" The fox, smiling shamelessly, said, "But I did treat you; does it cast a shadow on my generosity whose property it was?" The wolf, understanding that he had burned himself under the cunning one's mask of charity, never again believed a single word of his. Generosity shown with another's property is not friendship but only a deception. There is no generosity from another's purse.