Two friends went out on a long journey. They happened to pass through a thick forest. They felt a bit nervous; but as each promised to stand by the other and share the same fate they could walk on with some confidence in their mind.
They had not gone far when a wild bear came out from among the trees. One of the friends in great fear climbed up the nearest tree, without caring to think what would happen to the other man.
The other man, on his part, fell flat on the ground and held in his breath, pretending to be dead. As he lay thus, the bear came up to him and smelt him all over his body. Finding the man stiff in all his limbs, the bear took him to be dead and walked away.
When the bear was gone, the man in the tree came down. He greeted his friend, saying - “Thank God that you are saved. My friend, I saw the bear put its mouth very close to your ear. Did it say anything to you?”
The friend replied, “Yes, it warned me against a friend who left me in my danger to seek his own safety”.
Hence, we learn from the above story that “a friend in need is a friend indeed”.