The Fox Without a Tail
A free B1-level English story for language learners, readable online in 7 languages, with an option to listen via the free Storyteller app.
A fox who loses his tail in a trap tries to talk every other fox into cutting off theirs too — but one of them isn't fooled.
A fox once fell into a trap, and after a struggle managed to get free, but with the loss of his brush. He was then so much ashamed of his appearance that he thought life was not worth living unless he could persuade the other Foxes to part with their tails also, and thus divert attention from his own loss. So he called a meeting of all the Foxes, and advised them to cut off their tails: "They're ugly things anyhow," he said, "and besides they're heavy, and it's tiresome to be always carrying them about with you."
Suatu ketika seekor Rubah terperangkap dalam jebakan, dan setelah bergulat berhasil membebaskan diri, tetapi kehilangan ekornya yang lebat. Ia kemudian merasa begitu malu dengan penampilannya sehingga ia berpikir hidup tidak lagi berarti kecuali ia bisa membujuk Rubah-rubah lain untuk merelakan ekor mereka juga, demi mengalihkan perhatian dari kehilangannya sendiri. Maka ia mengadakan pertemuan seluruh Rubah, dan menyarankan mereka untuk memotong ekor mereka: "Lagi pula ekor itu buruk rupa," katanya, "dan selain itu berat, dan merepotkan untuk terus dibawa ke mana-mana."
But one of the other Foxes said, "My friend, if you hadn't lost your own tail, you wouldn't be so keen on getting us to cut off ours."
Tetapi salah satu Rubah lain berkata, "Kawanku, seandainya engkau tidak kehilangan ekormu sendiri, engkau tidak akan begitu bersemangat menyuruh kami memotong ekor kami."
