One winter’s day, a Dog set out with his friends: a Cat, elegant and sure of her sense; a Fox, clever and full of reasons; and a Hedgehog who trundled faithfully beside them.
The trail was long and bitterly cold, so each dressed warmly—two scarves apiece, gloves, and thick coats. The Dog, ever generous, had carried extra, “in case one of us forgets,” he said with a grin.
The Cat twitched her whiskers. “You worry too much,” she said. “Prudence is knowing what you need, not what others might.” The Fox nodded: “And if someone forgets, well—that’s their lesson to learn.” The Dog only smiled, though the Cat’s words left a chill that had nothing to do with the wind.
As the day grew bright they loosened their bundles. The Hedgehog, flushed and distracted, dropped his scarf without noticing.
By evening the sky darkened, and a cutting wind rolled down the ridge. The Hedgehog shivered. The Dog stepped forward. “I packed an extra. Here, take mine.”
The Cat placed a paw on his arm, eyes half-lidded. “Must you always make such gestures, as though the rest of us have no hearts? True kindness doesn’t flaunt itself. You give to prove your goodness, not from it.”
The Fox’s tail swept the snow. “Indeed. And if your care were real, you’d not stop at a scarf. You’d share your coat too—give until there’s nothing left between you and the cold. That’s what true compassion demands, isn’t it?”
The Dog’s ears lowered. “I meant no offense,” he murmured. “I only thought—perhaps I misjudged.” He took off his coat as well, draping it over the Hedgehog’s quills. “Thank you both for showing me my pride,” he said softly. “I didn’t know.”
The Cat sniffed. “It’s well you’re learning.” And the Fox nodded. “Humility suits you better than all your layers.”
They walked on as the snow deepened; and before they reached the cabin, the Dog lagged behind, weary and spent. He lay down beneath the whitening pines and did not rise again.
The Cat looked back once. “He always did overdo things,” she said. The Fox sighed. “A good heart, perhaps. Just not a wise one.” And the Hedgehog, wrapped in warmth not his own, whispered into the storm, “Perhaps he was both.”