The Lion and the Mouse

It happened that shortly after the Lion was caught by some hunters, who bound him with ropes to the ground. The Mouse, recognizing the Lions roar, came and gnawed the ropes thereby setting him free, repaying the kindness. The Mouse exclaimed, “You ridiculed the idea of my ever being able to help you, expecting never to receive from me any repayment of your favor; but now you know that it is possible for even a Mouse to benefit a Lion."

Oh the heck with it… from this point on I am going to correct the grammar and English of these fable translations as I think they make the most sense. Also, I will clean them up for easier reading. The above is a good example of a cleaned up fable. I have attempted to use as much of the original translation without changing the meaning. If you read the original you would see what I mean. I also added a bit of imagery with “an act of largess” alluding to the Lions spot as king of the jungle (which may actually be important.)

The moral of the story:

For everybody and everything there is usefulness.

Maybe there is something more to this moral. I think it is very interesting that “the King of Beasts” is used in this case when any animal that may eat a mouse could have been used. I think there is some social commentary happening here. After all, how often would a lion really go after a mouse, even one crossing right over his face? It would take more energy to catch that paltry tidbit and consume it than the mouse could provide in return. Any cat could have worked just as well as a lion (yes, cats were domesticated by Aesop’s time.) Could Aesop have been sending a message to a local politician or governor?

Seems to me there is a subtext here. A powerful man should be good to his slaves or servant for there may come a time when his dependence upon them is more that just a convenience. Coming from Aesop this would make a lot of sense since he was a slave before being freed. It is even possible that he created this fable to make a point to his master. If so, we can see Aesop was a sly one indeed, a master of circumlocution. It is easy to see a time where Aesop’s master may have dealt harshly with a slave and Aesop, a trusted and wily servant, approached him and said, “My lord, have you heard the fable of the Lion and the Mouse,” and made a most sharp point.

It is also interesting to note that the Mouse does honor his commitment to the Lion when there was absolutely no need for the mouse to risk being put in the middle. The mouse has personal honor and that says a lot for its nature. The Mouse recognizes a higher level of commitment other than to itself. In other fables the mouse or other small animal is completely contented to get away and survive another day. That is not the case here, a higher responsibility is acknowledged, a responsibility to Master, Lord, King, Emperor or State knowing that there is a reciprocating responsibility, even if it is just the largess of a king.

The Mouse is wise, the Lion is benevolent, the world is civil.