FRIEND IN NEED IS FRIEND IN DEED

When I was a child, I used to listen the story of two friends - Once they were passing through a dense forest, suddenly they saw a huge bear approaching them. On seeing the bear one of the friends, who knew climbing a tree, climbed a nearby tree leaving behind his friend. On this, the friend, who did not know how to climb a tree, got frightened but did not give up. He listened that the bear would not touch a dead body, he immediately lay down on the ground and posed to be a dead body. The bear came, sniffed the body and passed away. The friend, who climbed a tree, came down and asked "What did the bear tell to you in your ear?" The friend replied "The bear told me not to make friendship with any one who deserts his friend in his danger".
The moral of the story - "A true friend would never ditch you".
Gone are the days and now the meaning of friendship has also changed. Now, if one finds someone claiming to be his good friend, he becomes suspicious inasmuch as now-a-days no one would make friendship with anyone without any interest and this so called friendship would definitely cost him much. Some may argue that friendship still persists, but in real sense they live in fool’s paradise. In a nutshell, under the present days’ scenario, only fools make friendship and cleavers enjoy it.
Hence the title of the story can safely be changed to "FRIEND IN HIS NEED IS FRIEND IN DEED", and the moral - "A true friend may often ditch you".