Beyond the crystal mountains, behind the silken meadows, there was an unseen, impenetrable, dense forest. Deep within this forest lived a green mother bear with her two cubs. After the bear cubs grew a little, they decided to freely seek their own happy paths in life.
First, they came to say goodbye to their mother. The green mother bear hugged her cubs and instructed them never to be separated from each other.
So, the bear cubs set off on their independent journey. After walking for a while, they found a large slice of cheese. The brothers wanted to share the cheese between them, but they couldn't. Greed had blinded the bear cubs. Each one thought that the other brother might get more cheese. They argued a lot, growling at each other. Just then, a fox appeared from somewhere.
– What are you arguing about, young ones? – asked the fox.
The bear cubs told the fox about their difficulties. The fox said:
– What's so difficult about this? Come, I'll divide the cheese between you. It doesn't matter to me which of you is bigger or smaller.
– How wonderful! – the bear cubs rejoiced. – Divide it then!
The fox took the cheese and divided it into two pieces. He deliberately divided the cheese so that it was obvious from the first glance that the pieces were not equal. One piece was much larger than the other. The bear cubs cried out:
– One piece is bigger than the other!
The fox calmed them down:
– Calm down, hotheads, there's a solution for this too! Now I'll set everything right.
The fox took a big bite from the larger piece of cheese and swallowed it. Now the previously smaller piece became the larger one.
– It's still not equal now! – the bear cubs cried out again.
– I know, let me do my work! – the fox replied to them.
The fox now took a bite from the other piece and swallowed it.
– It's still not equal! – the bear cubs cried out angrily.
The fox, with his mouth full of delicious cheese, spoke with difficulty to the bear cubs:
– Don't worry, almost done, let me work on it a little more, and it will be perfectly equal.
Thus, the cunning fox continued to divide the cheese. He nibbled from this piece, then from that piece, pretending to make the portions equal. The bear cubs, meanwhile, wiggled their black noses back and forth, watching the fox's work. Finally, with this trick, the fox ate the cheese and filled his belly.
By the time the cheese pieces became equal, only a small morsel was left of them.
– Even though the cheese pieces are small, the main thing is that they are equal! Enjoy, bear cubs! – said the fox, wagging his tail and running away.
The bear cubs were very disappointed, but it was too late. This incident taught them a lesson.
This is always what happens to those who are greedy.
