Two travelers were journeying through the forest one day, when they heard the roars of a massive grizzly bear. Seeing it approach them, they were petrified. One of the travelers quickly climbed the tree in order to save himself, while his friend struggled to do so.
Unable to climb, the second traveler finally gave up and lay dead on the ground. He had heard that if you pretend to be dead, the bear will not harm you.
That turned out to be true, and when the bear came close, he observed the man carefully, sniffed his head a few times and then left, thinking that the man was dead.
As the bear left, the traveler climbed down from the tree. “It seemed as if he was whispering to you! What did he say” he asked his friend, in amazement of the close encounter.
“He said that misfortune is a great test of friendship, and your friend has surely failed it by leaving you like that” he replied annoyingly.
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