The Lion and the Mouse
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Lion and the Mouse is an Aesop's fable. In the fable, a lion wants to eat a mouse who wakes him up. The mouse begs forgiveness and promises to return the favor if ever he is given the opportunity. He also makes the point that such unworthy prey as he should not stain the lion's great paws. Later, the lion is captured by hunters and tied to a tree; the lion roars with all his might so that someone might help him. The mouse hears the lion's pleas and frees him by gnawing through the ropes. The moral of this story is stated in the last line of the fable:
- Little friends may prove great friends.
"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted"
Another Aesop fable with a similar moral lesson concerns a slave who removes a thorn from a lion's paw, and the lion later comes to the slave's rescue.[1]
The story may have Ancient Egyptian roots, a nearly identical tale was told by Thoth to Hathor in one myth.
[edit] Pop Culture References
- C.S. Lewis may have referenced the fable in a scene in his book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In that particular scene, the mythical lion Aslan, after sacrificing himself to gain the release of Edmond, is chewed free from the evil witch Jadis's restraining ropes by a team of mice. When Aslan was raised from the dead, the Narnian mice were made Talking Beasts.
- In the Disney animated film The Rescuers, the all-mouse "Rescue Aid Society" was apparently founded by the mouse from this fable.
