The Lion and the Mouse

In a world where even the smallest creatures dream of being special, one little mouse finds himself struggling to stand out among his 500 siblings. Join him on an adventure where bravery and kindness lead to unexpected friendships and heartwarming heroism. This fairytale – The lion and the mouse – reminds us that sometimes, our greatest strengths come when we least expect them.

The Lion and the Mouse

Once upon a time, there was a tiny little mouse. He lived with his Mama Mouse and Papa Mouse and his 500 mouse brothers and sisters in a big nest made out of grass and sticks. With that many brothers and sisters, it was hard for the mouse to stand out, or make his parents proud of him. He dreamed of being special, or maybe even famous, but he found there was nothing he was really very good at.

One of his sisters was an amazing singer, and one of his brothers could do all of his times tables, even 7. He had another brother who could do a backflip, and another sister who painted the most beautiful finger paintings. He couldn’t do any of those things. He couldn’t cook, he didn’t know how to build nests, or invent things. He wasn’t good at telling jokes or doing magic tricks. He tried everything, but was disappointed, time and time again.

On a particularly bad day, after the mouse was finished trying to find out if he could hold his breath underwater the longest, he decided it was time to take a break. Once he had finished coughing up water, he decided to go for a walk. “I’ve had enough!” he said to himself. “I’ll never be good at anything and no one will ever notice me!”

Dripping wet and a bit embarrassed, he trudged off, away from the nest and his family. He walked through the grass and past the watering hole where the giraffes, zebras, and hippos were cooling off in the midday sun. They didn’t notice him either.

The mouse kept going, feeling absolutely miserable. He wasn’t sure where he was going, but he needed some space, away from his backflipping, times-tabling mouse brothers and sisters. He walked across the dry dusty ground towards an acacia tree, and looking high up at the branches, he decided to climb. For a moment he thought perhaps that could be his talent! He could climb really well! But then he remembered that that’s just a mouse thing, and it didn’t make him special at all. Still, he wasn’t sure what else to do, so up he went.

He reached one of the top branches and stopped to rest. Just then a huge lion with a massive fluffy mane came ambling over. The lion flopped onto the ground, sending a cloud of dust up into the air. The mouse froze. What was he going to do now? He’d have to wait until the lion left again, but it was hot, and the lion’s belly looked round and full. He would be there for hours! The lion started snoring, and the mouse tried to get comfy for a long stay.

The Lion and the Mouse

Suddenly, a great big wasp came and buzzed around the mouse’s head. The mouse tried to swat it away, but the wasp just kept coming back, buzzing around his head again and again. “Buzz! Off!” the mouse whispered, careful not to wake the lion. With all of the swatting and swinging, the mouse lost his balance, and before he could stop himself, he went toppling off the branch. Down, down, down he went and landed in a tangled heap, right on top of the lion’s mane.

The mouse was terrified. He didn’t dare move a muscle. He waited for the lion to wake up, but by some miracle, the lion stayed asleep. Slowly, carefully, the mouse freed himself from the thick mane and crept down the lion’s shoulder, over his paw, and back down to the dirt.

He took one last look at the lion to check he was still asleep, and finding that he was, the mouse started home, breathing a huge sigh of relief. Little did he know that the puff of air he released vibrated one of the lion’s long wiry whiskers, and the lion opened one eye.

Suddenly, the lion’s huge paw came down on the mouse’s head, and he was trapped! It was dark and scary under the lion’s paw, and the mouse trembled.

“Mmmmm,” said the lion, licking his lips. “A tasty little afternoon snack. I do love a juicy little mouse.”
“Nooooo, don’t eat me!” squeaked the mouse. “I’ll do anything!”

The lion thought about it for a moment. “Like what?” he asked. “Can you do a magic trick?”
The mouse could not believe it. He couldn’t do a magic trick to save his life. And he’d made peace with that, except now it might actually save his life, and he suddenly felt very sad about it again.
“I can’t do anything special,” the mouse said sadly. “I don’t have any talents, I’m not particularly clever or handsome. But I promise that if I can ever repay you, I will. If you ever need help, I will be there.”

The lion paused for a moment, and then he threw his head back and laughed and laughed, a roaring, whole-body-shaking laugh. He slowly lifted his paw and came nose to nose with the mouse.
“I’m not sure how you will ever be able to do anything to repay me, tiny little mouse, but you have made me laugh harder than I have laughed in a good long while, so I will let you go.”

The mouse didn’t look back; he ran and ran all the way home, climbed into bed, and got straight under his covers. He was the luckiest mouse alive. Maybe that was his talent!

In the next few days, the mouse told his mouse brothers and mouse sisters what had happened with the lion, but none of them believed him. No one had ever spoken to a lion and lived to tell the tale before. How typical, that the only impressive thing the mouse had ever done was so fantastic that no one thought it could possibly be true.

After a while, the mouse stopped bothering to tell anyone, and soon even he started to wonder whether it had really happened, or whether he had dreamed the whole thing. He gave up on trying to be special too and instead started dressing up as a superhero at mouse kids’ birthday parties.

One day, when the mouse was just finishing his hero act at his niece’s 6th birthday party, he heard a deafening roar thundering across the plains. Suddenly, his promise to the lion echoed through his head, and he lurched into action.

With his cape flying out behind him, he ran towards the sound as fast as his mouse legs could carry him. All the animals at the watering hole were running too, but they ran the other way – away from the terrifying sound.

The roars got louder as he got closer, and he realized the sound was one of terrified panic, not of rage. Finally, he came to the acacia tree, and underneath it he found the lion, caught in a poacher’s net. The lion was just whimpering now. He looked tired, and he was tangled up so tightly that the ropes were digging into his fur.

The mouse leapt onto the lion’s shoulder and got close to his ear. “I’m here!” he said, with his chest bravely puffed out.
“Mouse, is that you?” the lion said weakly. “Are you dressed up as a superhero?”
“Doesn’t matter!” the mouse said, “I’m going to rescue you!”

The Lion and the Mouse

And the mouse jumped down and started gnawing on the ropes that held the lion. He gnawed and chewed and munched and chomped until the ropes pinged loose, and the lion sprang free.
“Little mouse,” the lion said, “you have saved me! How can I ever thank you?”
“We’re even now,” the mouse replied, “my debt is repaid.”
“Are you absolutely sure there is nothing I can do?” the lion said.
“Well,” said the mouse, “there is one thing…”

And so, that is how the mouse came to be delivered back to his nest to his mouse brothers and mouse sisters and Mama Mouse and Papa Mouse riding high on the top of a lion’s mane, dressed as a superhero.

The lion told the mouse family about his mouse friend’s actions. “… and he is the bravest, most daring mouse I have ever met.” The mouse felt amazing; finally, his family was proud of him. But more importantly, he felt proud of himself, because he knew he had done the right thing when no one else could, and that made him the most special mouse of all.

Also read: The Boy Who Cried Wolf

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