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The Lion and the Mouse

A Lion laughs at a tiny Mouse and lets her go, but later she chews through the ropes of a net and saves him.

  • A bit scary
  • A bit dangerous
For parents

Once upon a time, in the golden savanna, there lived a great big Lion. His mane shone like the sun, and his voice rumbled like thunder.

One hot day, the Lion dozed off under a tree. Just then — scurry-scurry! — along came a Mouse. She ran and ran, took a wrong turn, and — hop! — landed right on the Lion’s nose.

"Ah-choo!" sneezed the Lion.

He opened his eyes and — whump! — trapped the Mouse under his paw.

"Oh dear, oh dear!" squeaked the Mouse. "Please let me go, Lion! I may be small, but someday I’ll help you!"

"Ha-ha-ha!" roared the Lion, laughing so hard the leaves shook. "A teeny thing like you, help me? Oh, that’s a good one!"

But he lifted his paw all the same. Whoosh! The Mouse dashed into the grass, with only the tip of her tail flicking behind her.

"Thank you!" she called from the grass. "I won’t forget!"

Many days went by. One day, the Lion was padding down the path to the river for a drink of water. Suddenly — thump! — something fell on him from above. Ropes! Hunters had stretched a whole net between the trees.

The Lion tugged, and the net only got tighter. He twisted this way, he twisted that way, but the ropes wouldn’t let him go.

"R-r-roar!" he bellowed across the whole savanna. "Who will help me?"

The birds flew off, and the monkeys hid. Only someone very small heard him, and came running: scurry-scurry-scurry!

"Don’t be scared, Lion!" squeaked the Mouse. "I promised, didn’t I?"

"You?" sighed the Lion. "A teeny thing like you?"

"A teeny thing like me!" laughed the Mouse. "But I’ve got sharp little teeth."

And she set to work. Crunch-crunch — snap! went one rope. Crunch-crunch — snap! went another. Crunch-crunch-crunch — and now there was a big hole in the net.

The Lion carefully climbed out, shook out his mane, and looked at the Mouse for a long, long time.

"I’m sorry I laughed at you," he said softly.

The Lion looked at the torn net. Then at his enormous paws. Then at the tiny Mouse. And all of a sudden he burst out laughing so hard the leaves shook! But this time he wasn’t laughing at the Mouse. He was laughing at himself:

"Oh, that’s a good one! A teeny thing like you, saving a great big giant like me!"

Did you like the story?

Retold from: Aesop, 1867

For parents

What it’s about

A big Lion laughs at a tiny Mouse but lets her go anyway, and she promises to help him one day. Children love the funny sounds — "scurry-scurry", "ah-choo", "crunch-crunch" — and the way the little hero turns out to be anything but helpless.

What it teaches

  • Kindness
  • Friendship
  • Courage

Questions to talk about with your child

  • Why did the Lion laugh at the Mouse, and why did he say sorry to her later?
  • How did the little Mouse help the big Lion?
  • Has someone small ever helped you? Have you ever helped someone?

At home

Play Lion and Mouse: one of you roars like the big Lion, the other squeaks in a tiny voice and "chews" through pretend ropes — crunch-crunch! Then talk about the ways little ones can be strong.

A line to remember

“A teeny thing like you, saving a great big giant like me!”

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