Two men were traveling in company through a forest, when, all at once, a huge bear crashed out of the brush near them.

One of the men, thinking of his own safety, climbed a tree.

The other, now all alone, threw himself on the ground and lay still, as if he were dead.

The bear snuffed at him for a while, and then walked away.

The man in the tree climbed down.

"It looked just as if that bear whispered in your ear," he said. "What did he tell you?"

"He said," answered the other, "that it was not at all wise to keep company with a fellow who would desert his friend in a moment of danger."