The Bear and the Fox
Aesop
A Bear was once bragging about his generous feelings, and saying how refined he was compared with other animals. (There is, in fact, a tradition that a Bear will never touch a dead body.)
A Fox, who heard him talking in this strain, smiled and said, “My friend, when you are hungry, I only wish you would confine your attention to the dead and leave the living alone.”
A hypocrite deceives no one but himself.
From Aesop’s Fables: a new translation by V.S. Vernon Jones, with an introduction by G.K. Chesterton and illustrations by Arthur Rackham. 1912 edition. This work is in the public domain.
