Fabel van de beer en de twee reizigers

A large bear leans down to sniff the ear of a man lying face-down in the dirt, who remains perfectly still to survive. In the middle ground, his companion clings to the branches of a tree, and in the far distance, a rural village with a gothic church tower sits beneath a rolling sky. This print captures the climactic moment of the moral tale where the bear supposedly whispers that a true friend does not desert another in danger.

Produced during Sadeler's tenure as court engraver to Rudolf II in Prague, this work reflects the court's interest in Neostoic philosophy and the moralizing potential of the natural world. It belongs to the 'Theatrum morum' tradition, which transformed classical fables into emblems used for the ethical and philosophical education of the late Renaissance elite.