Two men were traveling through a forest when all at once a big brown bear crashed out of the brush. One of the men, thinking only of his own safety, scampered up a nearby tree. The other fellow, not nearly as nimble as his companion, threw himself on the ground and lay as still as a corpse. He had heard that bears will not touch a dead body and it must have been true because after the bear sniffed and snuffed all around him, he walked away.
 
When the man in the tree climbed down he joked, “It looked like the bear whispered something in your ear.”
“As a matter of fact, he did,” said his companion. “He said it was not wise to travel with a person who would desert his friend in a moment of danger.”
 
Misfortune is the test of true friendship.

11 1/2” diameter