The Lion and the Mouse

The Lion and the Mouse

Retold by Pikabuk Studio · After Aesop's fable, retold for this demo.

A great lion lay asleep in the warm grass, his heavy head resting on his paws. A little mouse, hurrying home, did not see him and ran straight across his nose.

The lion woke with a roar. In a flash, his huge paw came down and pinned the mouse by her tail. He opened his mouth, ready to swallow her in one bite.

"Please, King of the grassland," squeaked the mouse, "let me go! I am too small to fill your stomach. If you spare me, one day I will help you."

The lion laughed so hard that the grass shook. "You? Help me? What could a mouse ever do for a lion?" But he was in a good mood after his nap, so he lifted his paw. The mouse bowed quickly and ran away into the grass.

Some weeks later, hunters came to the grassland. They tied a strong net between two trees and hid it under leaves. That evening, as the lion walked to the river to drink, he stepped right into the trap. The net fell over him and pulled tight.

The lion roared and struggled. He bit the ropes and pulled with all his strength, but the more he fought, the more tangled he became. His roars rolled across the whole grassland.

Far away, the little mouse heard him. She knew that voice. Without stopping to think, she ran through the grass as fast as her legs could carry her, until she found the lion trapped in the net.

"Be still," she said. "I am here." Then she began to gnaw at the thickest rope. She gnawed and gnawed until her teeth ached. One rope broke, then another, then another, until there was a hole big enough for the lion to climb out.

The lion stepped free and looked down at the tiny mouse for a long moment. "You were right," he said quietly. "I laughed at you, and you saved my life."

From that day on, the lion and the mouse were friends. And whenever the lion met someone small, he remembered: kindness is never wasted, and no one is too little to help.