Juliette Gauthier de la Vérendrye

In spring time, in thawing season, Canulah, and Indian fisherman, was fishing through the ice. The fish he caught he put on his sled, and started for home. There was a fox, who had crossed his trail, ahead of him. The fox lay on the ground, as if he were dead, so the fisherman, when passing by, grabbed the fox the tail, and put him on his sled.

But the fox came to, and spied the fish, so he jumped off the sled, and fled into the woods, carrying away all of the fish. On his way the fox met with a bear. The bear, on seing the fox with the fish, asked him where he got it. “I just sat on the edge of a hole, on the ice, and when the fish would nibble at my tail, I would quickly jump away, and the fish would cling to the end of it”.

So the clumsy bear thought he could do the same. But he sat on the edge of the ice, and he put all of his tail into the hole. he sat too long, and froze most of his tail off. And ever since, all the bears have been born with very short tails.

“In the olden days, and in another world,” said Canulah, “all the bears had big long tails”. (Legends of the Bush-Men Indians)

Source: Sacred-texts