The Lion and the Mouse

The lion, king of the forest, was sleeping one afternoon in the shade of a great tree. A little mouse, busy playing, accidentally ran across the lion's paw. The lion woke, raised his paw and caught the mouse.

"You little thing!" he roared. "How dare you disturb my sleep?"

The mouse begged, trembling all over: "Please let me go, Your Majesty. I didn't mean to wake you, I am so sorry. If you let me go, one day I will help you, I promise."

The lion burst out laughing. "You? Help me? What could a tiny mouse ever do for a great lion?" But the mouse was so small and so frightened that the lion felt sorry for him and opened his paw. The mouse scurried away.

A few days later, hunters came to the forest. They stretched a huge net between the trees. That night, as the lion was roaming, he got caught in the net. However much he struggled, he could not get free. The ropes bound him tight. He roared helplessly, and his roar echoed through the whole forest.

The mouse heard it too. He came running at once. "Don't move," he said, "I'm here." With his small sharp teeth he began to gnaw at the ropes. One rope, two ropes, three ropes... By dawn there was a big hole in the net, and the lion stepped out.

The lion looked at the mouse, and this time he did not laugh. "You gave me back my life," he said. "I laughed at you, but you made a promise and kept it. Being small meant nothing at all."

From that day on, the lion and the mouse were the best of friends in the forest. Wherever the lion went, the mouse rode on his shoulder. And every animal in the forest learned this: no matter how small a kindness seems, one day it always comes back to you.