The Lion and the Mouse Story - John Son

The Lion and the Mouse

Once upon a time, in a dense, sun-dappled jungle, a mighty Lion was taking a nap. He lay stretched out under a large shady tree, his great head resting on his paws. As he slept, a tiny, timid Mouse, scurrying home, accidentally ran across the Lion's nose.

Startled from his sleep, the Lion let out a tremendous roar. In a flash, he pinned the little Mouse under his massive paw. "How dare you wake me!" he growled, his voice like thunder. "I am the King of the Beasts! I shall crush you for your insolence!"

The terrified Mouse squeaked, trembling from whiskers to tail. "Oh, please, Your Majesty!" she pleaded. "Forgive me this time. I didn't mean to wake you. If you let me go, I promise I will never forget your kindness. Who knows, one day I may be able to help you!"

The Lion scoffed at the idea. The thought of this tiny creature ever being able to help him, the mighty king of the jungle, was so absurd that it made him laugh. His big, rumbling laugh shook the ground. Amused by the Mouse's boldness, his anger melted away. "Very well," he said, lifting his paw. "Be on your way, little one. But do not disturb my rest again." The grateful Mouse scurried away as fast as her little legs could carry her.

A few weeks later, the very same Lion was roaming through the jungle when he fell into a trap set by hunters. A thick rope net dropped over him, pulling him up until he was dangling from a tree, completely helpless. He roared in frustration and fear, thrashing with all his might, but the ropes were too strong. His roars echoed through the jungle, a sound of despair.

The little Mouse, not far away, heard the Lion's roars. Recognizing the voice of the king who had spared her life, she ran towards the sound. She found the magnificent Lion tangled in the net, defeated and exhausted.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty," squeaked the Mouse. "I am here to help you!"

Without a second's hesitation, she climbed up the tree and onto the net. She began to gnaw at the thick ropes with her small, sharp teeth. One by one, the strands of the rope snapped. The Lion watched in amazement as the tiny creature worked tirelessly. Soon, a rope snapped, then another, and another. Before long, the net had a hole big enough for the Lion to break free.

The Lion tumbled to the ground, finally free. He turned to the small Mouse and said with a humble voice, "Thank you, my dear friend. You were right. You have saved my life. I have learned a valuable lesson today."

From that day on, the Lion and the Mouse were the best of friends, and the Lion never again underestimated the power of a small act of kindness.

The moral of the story is: A kindness is never wasted, and no act of friendship, however small, is ever in vain.

The Golden Swan

This is another nice story from the album of Jataka Kathaye (Tales). Once upon a time, there was a swan / goose that had striking golden feathers. This swan lived in a pond. There was a house near this pond, where a poor woman lived with her two daughters. The people were really poor and were leading a tough life. The swan found that the poor mother was passing a hard time with her daughters.

The swan thought, “If I give them one after another my golden feathers, the mother can sell them. She and her daughters can live in comfort with the money raised from it”. After thinking this, the swan flew away to the poor woman’s house. On seeing the swan inside the house, the woman said,” Why have you come here? We have nothing to offer you”.

The Swan replied, “I have not come to take anything, but I have something to give you. I know your condition. I will give my golden feathers one by one and you can sell them. With the money raised through it, you people can easily live in comfort”. After saying this, the swan shed one of her feathers and then flew away. This became a regular feature and from time to time, the swan came back and every time left another feather.

Like this, the mother and her daughters were happily leading their life by selling the feathers of the golden swan. Each golden feather got them enough money to keep them in comfort. But the mother became greedy to get all the feathers as soon as possible. One day, she said to her daughters, “Now, we will not trust this swan, possibly she may fly away and never come back. If this would happen, we will be poor again. We will take all of her feathers, when she will come the next time”.

The innocent daughters replied, “Mother, this will hurt the swan. We will not cause any pain to her”. But the mother was determined to catch hold the swan the very next time she comes. Next time, when the swan came, the mother caught her and pulled out all of her feathers. Now, the golden feathers of the swan changed into some strange feathers. The mother was shocked to see such feathers.

The Golden Swan said, “Poor Mother, I wanted to help you, but you wanted to kill me instead. As per my wish, I used to give you the golden feather. Now, I think there is no need to help you. Now, my feathers are nothing more than chicken feathers for you. I am going from this place and will never come back”. The mother felt sorry and apologized for the mistake committed by her. The Golden Swan said, “Never be greedy” and flew away.

Moral: Excess greed brings nothing.