Once upon a time there lived a mighty lion on the mountain. He hunted every day, and the animals of the mountains feared his strength.
One day a lion met a panther. Her entire skin was torn, and her fur hung in shreds. From many wounds she was neither alive nor dead. The lion asked her:
-What happened to you? Who tore your skin, who stripped your fur?
And the panther answered him:
- A man did it. Then the lion asked:
-Who is this person? The panther answered him:
- There is no one more cunning than man! Never fall into his hands!
The lion harbored a grudge against the man and went to look for him. On the way he met a donkey and a horse. A bridle was tied around their muzzles, and there were bits in their teeth. I asked them
lion:
-Who tied you up like this?
And they answered:
- This is our master, man!
The lion was surprised:
- Is the person really stronger than you? Then they said:
- He is our master. There is no one smarter than man. Never fall into his hands!
The lion became even more angry with the man and left the donkey and horse.
He met a bull and a cow, their horns were sawed off, their nostrils were pierced, and they had a yoke around their necks. The lion asked them who did it, and they told him that their master, a man, did it.
The lion went further and met a bear. His claws were cut and his teeth were pulled out. The lion asked him:
“Is a man really stronger than even you?” And the bear answered:
- Yes, stronger. I had one person in my service. He brought me food. But one day he said to me: “Truly your claws are too long; they prevent you from taking food. But your teeth are too weak and do not allow you to eat what you want. Let me pluck them out and I will bring you twice as much food as usual!” And I let him tear them out. And so he took my teeth and claws, threw sand in my eyes and ran away. And I had nothing left to hold him back.
The lion became even more angry. He left the bear and began to look for the man.
But soon he saw another lion pinched by a mountain tree, the tree trunk split from above clamped the lion's paw, and the lion was grieving because he could not escape.1*
The lion who came asked him:
- How did you get into such trouble? Who did this to you?
And the other lion answered him:
- A man did it. Beware of him and don't trust him. The man is cunning! Never fall into his hands! I met a man and asked him: “What craft do you do?” And he told me: “My craft is to prevent old age. I can make you such a talisman that you will never die. So be it, I'll cut down the tree trunk and let you touch it
talisman. After this you will never die! And so I followed him to this mountain tree. He cut it down, split the trunk with a wedge and said to me: “Put your paw here!” And I stuck my paw into the crack. Then he knocked out the wedge, and the tree caught my paw. And the man, when he saw that I could not follow him, threw sand in my eyes and ran.
The lion who came laughed and said:
- O man, if you ever fall into my clutches, I will repay you immediately for all the insults that you caused to the beasts of the mountains!
And the lion went further in search of the man. But then it happened that a mouse, seemingly frail and very small, fell under the lion’s paw. The lion wanted to crush her, but the mouse begged:
- Don't push me, my lord! If you eat me, you still won’t get enough of me. If you let me go, your hunger will not become stronger. But if you give me life, I will also give you life someday. Don't harm me, don't kill me, and someday I will save you from trouble.
The lion laughed at the mouse and said:
- What can you do? After all, no one on earth can cope with me or harm me!
But the mouse swore to him:
“I swear that I will save you from death when a rainy day comes for you!”
Leo took it all as a joke, but thought: “If I eat this mouse, I really won’t be full!” And he let her go.
And it so happened that one hunter, who was catching animals in a trap, dug a hole right in the path of the lion. The lion fell into a hole and fell into the hands of a hunter. The hunter entangled him in a net and tied him tightly with dry straps, and tied him on top with rawhide straps.
And so the tied lion lay in the mountains and grieved. But fate wished that the mouse's joke would become true. She wanted to laugh at the lion’s arrogant words and at seven o’clock at night she brought a little mouse to him. The mouse said to the lion:
Don't you recognize me? I am the little mouse you gave life to. I came to
today to repay you in kind. You fell into the hands of a man, but I will save you from death. You need to be grateful to those who have done you a favor.
And so the mouse began to gnaw at the lion's bonds. She gnawed through all the dry straps and all the rawhide straps with which he was bound, and freed him from his bonds. Then the mouse hid in the lion’s mane, and he immediately went with her to the mountains.
Think about the little mouse, the weakest of all the inhabitants of the mountains, and the lion, the strongest of all the animals living in the mountains! Think about this miracle that happened at the behest of fate!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru