The Lion and the Mouse

Once when a Lion was asleep, a little Mouse began running up and down upon him. The Mouse admired the Lion’s paws, his long whiskers and his sharp teeth. This soon wakened the angry Lion, who placed his huge paw upon him and opened his big jaws to eat him.

“Please,” said the Mouse, “let me go and I’ll come back and help you someday.”

The Lion laughed, “You are so small! How could ever help me?”

The Lion laughed so hard he had to hold his belly! Pleased and happy that the Mouse made him laugh so much, he lifted up his paw and let him go. The Mouse jumped, happy to be free and ran until it was far, far away.

The next day, two hunters came to the forest and tied up the Lion in a net.

He roared! He wept! But he couldn’t pull himself free.

Just then the little Mouse happened to pass by, the Mouse heard the Lion’s roar and came back to help him. The Mouse began nibbling and nibbling until the rope broke and the Lion was free.

The happy Lion turned to the Mouse held out it’s paw and said, “Dear friend, I was foolish to ridicule you for being small. You helped me by saving my life after all!”. The Lion and the Mouse both laughed.