The Donkey And The Lion
There was a donkey who was very unhappy because her master beat her every day. She had not much food to eat either. So one day she ran away and went to live in the forest. Here she found plenty of good food and no one beat her. She soon get quite fat.
In the same forest lived a lion. He was very old and was nearly always ill. He was not strong any more.
One day the lion said to the rabbit who took care of him, ” Nurse, I haven’t had any meat for a long time, a very long timg. Do you think you could find some for me ?”
” Don’t worry, master,” said the rabbit. ” There’s a young fat donkey living not far from here. I’ll bring her here. When she comes pounce on her and eat her.”
Then the rabbit went along to the donkey. When he saw the donkey he said, “My friend, my master is right. You’re very, very beautiful.”
The donkey smiled, asking, ” What do you mean, and who is your master?”
The rabbit answered, ” I’m sent by mymaster, the lion, to see you. He wants me to ask you to come to his home.”
” Asking me to come to the lion’s home? Oh no, never! I don’t want to lose my life! You can just go away, Mr Rabbit !”
” Take it easy, my friend,” said the rabbit. ” My master won’t do you any harm. As a matter of fact, he has heard how beautiful you are. He always tells me that you are the most beautiful animal in the whole forest. Now he is ill, very ill, and thinks it will make him better to look such as a beauty as yours.”
The donkey was very much flattered to hear this. So she went along with rabbit to visit the lion. The lion had already been waiting for their coming, and as soon as the donkey came within his reach he jumped on her! But he was so weak because he was ill and so old. The donkey, on the contrary, was young and strong. She kicked the lion away, and ran back home. She was badly scratched and was very disappointed.
Not long afterwards the lion said to the rabbit, ” Nurse, do you think it would be possible to bring the donkey come here again ?”
The rabbit replied, ” I’ll do my best, master.”
“Please do bring her here once again,” said the lion. ” I’me very very hungry.”
So the rabbit went to the donkey.
” My friend,” he said to the donkey, “Will you please come and see the lion once again?”
“What! See him again!” shouted the donkey. ” Not me, Mr Rabbit! You saw how he was going to kill me! Fortunately I could just escape. Look how he scratched me!”
“I’m so sorry,” said the rabbit. “But it was nothing like that. You didn’t understand him. He didn’t mean to harm you. He was just showing how much he loves you. That’s his way of loving people.”
” Oh I didn’t know that,” said the donkey.
The rabbit continued, “You don’t know how much he loves you. He is always talking about your beautiful face, even in his sleep! This very morning he told me that he’d better die if he can’t see you again; and he’s so ill. That’s why I hurried to you to ask you to come and see him again.”
“If this is so I must apologize, Mr Rabbit,” said the donkey. ” I really didn’t know that before. I hope my coming will make him better. So let’s hurry then.”
Thus the donkey went to the lion a second time. But this time the lion was more tactful. He let her come quite close to him. Then with all his might he suddenly pounced on the poor donkey and ate her at once.
Dear reader, sometimes we are too stupid to know what people around us want, because they are so nice to us. But we never know what are behind their kindness.
So beware, don’t let them eat you
