The fox in the tiger's skin.

a proverb

 

 

The fox caught by the tiger told a lie that he was the messenger of the Lord of Heaven, and if the tiger ate him, the tiger would disobey the Lord. And he said that if the tiger followed him, everyone would run away. When the fox walked with the tiger, other animals got scared at the tiger and fled. The proverb comes from the traditional story. The fox looked triumphant, but what scares us is not the fox's cunning but that forgetting that he borrowed the tiger's authority, the fox thought that he was truly strong.

 

"July 15  2019

from “Oriori no Kotoba” by Kiyokazu Washida, The Asahi Shimbun"