You might have noticed that many, if not most, of the moral stories on this page and in general are about animals interacting with each other. It gives animals human-like qualities and simplifies the problem to teach an important lesson in an easier way. The following moral story does the same by teaching the moral of kindness through the meeting of a lion and a small mouse. In addition, I will tell you something about the possible author of the story called Aesop.
Aesop
Aesop was a Greek storyteller of the fables today known as “Aesop’s Fables”. He lived from around 620 until 564 before the current era but his existence is to this day not fully confirmed. Aesop died at the age of 56 in Delphi, Greece. His stories were never found as written pieces but were carried through centuries by being told over and over again. “The Aesop Romance” is a fictional story about the fabulist’s life portraying him as an “ugly slave” who acquires freedom and spent his life advising others.
Aesop in different languages
The first translation of Aesop’s texts into Latin happened around the first century AC. Over the following centuries, numerous of Aesop’s Fables were translated and published in Latin. After arriving in Europe the texts were firstly only read in Latin until they were finally translated into more languages. In the 12th century, Marie de France wrote the adaptation “Ysopet” in which she connected the stories to the problems of her time. Berechiah ha-Nakdan, a Jewish author, wrote a collection of stories from Aesop, Marie den France and more under the title “Mishlei Shualim” in the 13th century. Aesop’s Fables arrived in Germany around the year 1370. It was written by Gerhard von Minden and was titled “Äsop”. The first translations into the Chinese languages were made at the beginning of the 17th century and written down in 1625 by Zhang Geng.
Summary
The story “The Lion and the Mouse” starts with a lion sleeping peacefully in a forest. A small mouse stumbled across him and she tried to flee she ran over the lion’s nose. The lion became angry and threatened to kill the mouse. She begged him not to and said that she would repay her one day. Amused at the offer, the lion eventually let her go. A couple of days later, the lion got trapped in a net while hunting. The mouse heard his screams and remembered her promise. She ran to him and started biting the ropes, freeing him. She left with the words that even a mouse could help a lion.
The moral that the story wants to bring across is that kindness is never wasted and always comes back to you.
For the original story, click here! https://read.gov/aesop/007.html
I hope you enjoyed learning about Aesop’s Fables as much as I did! The story “The Lion and the Mouse” teaches an important lesson and it’s good to think back on it and be reminded that being kind goes a long way.
