The Bear and the Two Travelers – An English fairy tale with a list of vocabulary and expressions to improve your reading comprehension and expand your vocabulary
Source of story: Gutenberg Project at www.gutenberg.org
The Bear and the Two Travelers
Two men were traveling together, when a bear suddenly met them on their path.
- path: route, track
One of them climbed up quickly into a tree and concealed himself in the branches.
- concealed: hid
The other, seeing that he must be attacked, fell flat on the ground, and when the bear came up and felt him with his snout, and smelt him all over, he held his breath, and feigned the appearance of death as much as he could.
- snout: animal’s nose
- feign: pretend, fake, invent
The bear soon left him, for it is said he will not touch a dead body.
When he was quite gone, the other traveler descended from the tree, and jocularly inquired of his friend what it was the bear had whispered in his ear.
- descended: went down
- jocularly: humorously
- inquire: ask questions
- whisper: breathe words quietly or voicelessly
“He gave me this advice,” his companion replied.
- companion: friend
“Never travel with a friend who deserts you at the approach of danger.”
- desert you: leave you alone
Related idioms or proverbs
Misfortune tests the sincerity of friends
A friend in need is a friend indeed
Fair-weather friend
I really like this short story because of the message and the meaning of it. I think that when you want to get a friend you need to test him first to see that if he is a good person or a bad person. But I think his companino was such a bad person.
Misfortune tests the sincerity of friends
A friend in need is a friend indeed
Fair-weather friend
That’s right, Soroosh. All these idioms and proverbs about real friendship reflect the central message and moral of this short story or fable, i.e. The Bear and the Two Travelers.
I truly agree with the moral of this short story that we can test the sincerity of a friendship in challenging moments of life. Although we must be conscious of what we expect from our friends, we must not ask for something illogical.
The traveler who climbed up the tree and left his friend high and dry in the face of trouble and danger was such a coward.