Oh, he is far more fearful
than you!"
At that the Lion stood up and roared so
that the jungle shook.
"Take me to this lion," he said; "I'll
eat him up and then I'll eat you up."
The little Jackals danced on ahead, and
the Lion stalked behind. They led him to
a place where there was a round, deep well
of clear water. They went round on one
side of it, and the Lion stalked up to the
other.
"He lives down there, Father Lion!"
said the little Jackal. "He lives down
there!"
The Lion came close and looked down
into the water,--and a lion's face looked
back at him out of the water!
When he saw that, the Lion roared and
shook his mane and showed his teeth. And
the lion in the water shook his mane and
showed his teeth. The Lion above shook
his mane again and growled again, and
made a terrible face. But the lion in the
water made just as terrible a one, back.
The Lion above couldn't stand that. He
leaped down into the well after the other
lion.
But, of course, as you know very well,
there wasn't any other lion! It was only
the reflection in the water!
So the poor old Lion floundered about
and floundered about, and as he couldn't
get up the steep sides of the well, he was
drowned dead. And when he was drowned
the little Jackals took hold of hands and
danced round the well, and sang,--
"The Lion is dead! The Lion is dead!
"We have killed the great Lion who
would have killed us!
"The Lion is dead! The Lion is dead!
"Ao! Ao! Ao!"
THE COUNTRY MOUSE AND THE CITY MOUSE[1]
[1] The following story of the two mice, with the similar fables
of The Boy who cried Wolf, The Frog King, and The Sun and
the Wind, are given here with the hope that they may be of use
to the many teachers who find the over-familiar material of the
fables difficult to adapt, and who are yet aware of the great
usefulness of the stories to young minds.
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