One day the bear stood guard over the sleeping gardener, and he noticed a large fly sitting on the gardener's nose. He waved his paw to chase it away, but then the fly settled on the gardener's head.
The angry bear grabbed a stone and brought it down on the gardener's head, killing the fly… and the gardener.
Having a foolish friend can be fatal.
Inspired by: The Tortoise and the Geese, and Other Fables of Bidpai by Maude Barrows Dutton.
Notes: Compare the jataka story of the mother and her daughter: The Foolish Cook's Foolish Daughter. This story of the bear also appears in La Fontaine: The Bear and the Amateur Gardener.
Here's an illustration by Grandville for La Fontaine:
![](https://widgets.lauragibbs.net/aesop/grandville/0810-ursus-et-amicus-eius_4914793385_o.png)
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