The Bear and the Wolves.

Once upon a time, a bear stumbled into a den of lions.  
He quickly found himself surrounded by a dozen angry lions. As the bear cowered, he saw two lion cubs hiding behind one of the adults.  
Suddenly the bear spoke up and said, "Please don't kill me!  There is a large pack of wolves outside that chased me in here."  

The lions paused and listened to the bear.
"If you let me live, I can help you protect your cubs from those hungry wolves" said the bear.
The lions thought about it and talked to each other and decided to let the bear live and stay in the den.
And the howling wolves could be heard coming closer.
~~

The bear spoke again,
"I see you all have large claws for fighting.  I know the wolves love to fight and if they see those claws - they will become more threatened and want to attack."
"If you remove your claws - the wolves won't see you as a threat and you'll be safer."

The lions replied, "But without claws, we can't defend ourselves."
"Oh, but you still have sharp teeth", the bear said, "and besides, I have claws and I promised to help defend you."
So the lions removed their claws.
And the howling wolves could be heard coming closer.
~~

The bear spoke again,
"Now I can see you all have large sharp teeth too.  I know the wolves love to fight and if they see those teeth - they will become more threatened and want to attack."
"If you file down your teeth - the wolves won't see you as a threat and you'll be safer."

The lions spoke and said, "Without sharp teeth, we can't defend ourselves."
"Oh, but you're bodies are large and there are so many of you", the bear said, "and besides, I have sharp teeth and I promised to help defend you."
So the lions filed down their teeth.
And the howling wolves could be heard coming closer.
~~

The bear spoke again,
"I see you lions are so big and so strong.  I know the wolves love to fight and if they see how big you all are - they will become more threatened and want to attack."
"If you make yourselves small - the wolves won't see you as a threat and you'll be safer."

The lions spoke and said, "But if we are small, we can't defend ourselves."
"Oh, but you will be much harder to find and catch if you are small", the bear said, "and besides, I am big and strong and I promised to help defend you."
So the lions made themselves as small as mice.
And the howling wolves could be heard coming closer.
~~

And just then wolves burst into the lion's den.
Then bear stood up tall and showed his big claws and razor sharp teeth and spoke with a roar,
"You can have all the mice but those cubs are for me!"