The Old Lion and the Fox
- 2 minute read
- Ages 7-11
- Aesop's Fables
A lion grew old.
He could no longer chase anything down, and hunger is a serious problem for an animal that has never had to think before.
So he thought, and came up with something.
The sick lion
He went into his cave and let it be known throughout the forest that he was ill, very ill, probably dying, and that he would be glad of visitors.
The animals came.
They had been afraid of him their whole lives, and there is something irresistible about a frightening thing that has become harmless. A goat went in to pay respects. A sheep went in. A deer, then two more. They went in one at a time, out of politeness, into the dark of the cave.
None of them came out. But nobody outside noticed that, because they were all waiting their turn.
The fox
Then a fox arrived.
She came up the slope, stopped at a comfortable distance from the entrance, and called in from there.
"Good morning. I hear you are unwell."
"Come in," said the lion. "Come closer. I can hardly hear you."
"This is close enough."
"Do not stand out there in the wind. Come inside and sit with me a while."
The fox looked at the ground in front of the cave for a moment.
"I would like to," she said. "But I see a great many footprints going into your cave, and I do not see a single one coming out. Until somebody walks out of there, I think I shall stay where I am."
And she turned round and went back down the hill.
Moral of the story
Look at what has happened to the people who went before you. The pattern tells you more than anyone's invitation does.
Questions and answers
- Why did the lion pretend to be ill?
He was too old to hunt, so he needed the animals to come to him instead of chasing them.
- Why did the animals visit him?
They had feared him all their lives, and a dangerous animal that has become harmless is difficult to resist visiting.
- How did the fox behave differently?
She stopped at a safe distance from the cave and called in rather than going inside.
- What did the fox notice?
Many footprints leading into the cave and none leading out of it.
- What is the lesson about evidence?
That looking at what happened to others is more reliable than listening to what someone tells you.
Word meanings
- irresistible
- Too tempting to refuse.
- respects
- Polite greetings paid to someone important or unwell.
- entrance
- The way into a place.
- pattern
- Something that repeats in a regular way.
Questions about The Old Lion and the Fox
What is the moral of The Old Lion and the Fox?
The moral is that you should judge a situation by the evidence in front of you rather than by what you are told. The footprints told the fox everything.
Why is the fox the clever animal in so many fables?
In European fable traditions the fox almost always represents caution and cunning, and is usually the character who sees through a trick.
Is anything violent described?
No. The fable never says what happened inside the cave. The footprints do all the work.
What is a good discussion question?
Ask children how you could tell whether something is safe when everyone around you is saying it is. The fox's method is evidence, not opinion.