reference to a fable in which a fox who lost his tail in a trap talks about the virtues of being tailless and suggests that all his fellow foxes cut off theirs. The story comes from Aesop's Fables, by Greek writer Aesop (620? - 560 b.c.), which contains stories largely concerned with talking animals illustrating human vices, follies and virtues. —HSSC Glossary (approved 3-9-90)