Posts filed under ‘.lion’
Pierre
Really Rosie
Maurice Sendak’s Really Rosie Starring the Nutshell Kids
[Prologue:]
There was once a boy named Pierre
Who only would say, I don’t care!
Read his story,
my friend,
for you’ll find
At the end that
a suitable Moral
lies there
[Chapter I]
One day his mother
said, When Pierre
climbed out of bed
-Good morning,
darling boy,
you are my only joy
Pierre said
I don’t care!
-What would you like to eat?
-I don’t care!
-Some lovely cream of wheat?
-I don’t care!
-Don’t sit backwards
in your chair
-I don’t care!
-Or pour syrup
on your hair
-I don’t care!
-You are acting like a clown
-I don’t care!
-And we have
to go to town
-I don’t care!
-Don’t you want
to come, my dear?
-I don’t care!
-Would you
rather stay
right here?
-I don’t care!
So his mother left him there
[Chapter II]
His father said-
Get off your head
Or I will march
you up to bed!
Pierre said
I don’t care!
-I would think that you
could see
-I don’t care!
-Your head
is where your
feet should be!
-I don’t care!
-If you
keep standing
upside down
-I don’t care!
-We’ll never
get to town
-I don’t care!
-If only
you would say,
I care
-I don’t care!
-I’d let you fold
the folding chair
-I don’t care!
-So his parents
left him there
They didn’t
take him anywhere
[Chapter III]
Now as
the night
began to fall
A hungry lion
paid a call
He looked Pierre
right in the eye
And asked him
if he’d like to die
Pierre said-I don’t care!
-I can eat you,
don’t you see?
-I don’t care!
-And you
will be
inside of me
-I don’t care!
-Then you will never
have to bother
-I don’t care!
-With a mother
and a father
-I don’t care!
-Is that all you
have to say?
-I don’t care!
-Then I’ll eat you,
if I may
-I don’t care!
So the lion ate Pierre
[Chapter IV]
Arriving home at
six o’clock
His parents had
a dreadful shock!
They found
the lion sick
in bed and cried
-Pierre is surely dead!
They pulled the
lion by the hair
They hit him with
the folding chair
His mother asked
-Where is Pierre?
The lion answered
-I don’t care!
His father said
-Pierre’s in there!
[Chapter V]
They rushed
the lion into town
The doctor
shook him upside,
and down
And when the lion
gave a roar
Pierre fell out
upon the floor
He rubbed his eyes
and scratched his head
And laughed
because
he wasn’t dead
His mother cried
and held him tight
His father asked
-Are you alright?
Pierre said-I am feeling fine
Please take me home,
it’s half past nine
The lion said
-If you would care
To climb on me,
I’ll take you there
Then everyone looked at Pierre
Who shouted
-Yes, indeed, I care!
The lion
took them
home to rest
And stayed on as
a weekend guest
The moral of Pierre is: CARE!
In Like a Lion out Like a Lamb
If March comes in like a lion,
It will go out like a lamb
The Lion and the Unicorn
The Lion and the Unicorn are time-honoured symbols of the United Kingdom. They are properly speaking heraldic supporters, appearing in the full Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom. The lion stands for England and the unicorn for Scotland. The combination therefore dates back to the 1603 accession of James I of England who was already James VI of Scotland.
Their notorious rivalry in heraldic legend has translated into a famous nursery rhyme:
The lion and the unicorn were fighting for the crown
The lion beat the unicorn all around the town.
Some gave them white bread, and some gave them brown;
Some gave them plum cake and drummed them out of town.
Androcles and the Lion
A slave runs away from his master and hides in the woods – then finds himself face to face with a limping lion….
The tale of Androcles and the Lion is said to have been written by Aesop – the great Greek storyteller who always summed up his stories from the animal kingdom with a moral. In the case of Androcles, the lesson is that “Gratitude is the sign of a noble
Download Androcles and the Lion
It happened in ancient times that a slave named Androcles escaped from his master and fled into the forest, and he wandered there for a long time until he was weary and well nigh spent with hunger and despair.
Just then he heard a lion near him moaning and groaning and at times roaring terribly. Tired as he was Androcles rose up and rushed away from the lion; but as he made his way through the bushes he stumbled over the root of a tree and fell down twisting his ankle, and when he tried to get up there he saw the lion coming towards him, limping on three feet and holding his forepaw in front of him.
Poor Androcles was in despair; he had not strength to rise and run away, and there was the lion coming upon him. But when the great beast came up to him instead of attacking him it kept on moaning and groaning and looking at Androcles, who saw that the lion was holding out his right paw, which was covered with blood and much swollen. Looking more closely at it Androcles saw a great big thorn pressed into the paw, which was the cause of all the lion’s trouble. Plucking up courage he seized hold of the thorn and drew it out of the lion’s paw, who roared with pain when the thorn came out, but soon after found such relief from it that he rubbed up against Androcles and showed, in every way that he knew, that he was truly thankful for being relived from such pain.
Instead of eating him up he brought him a young deer that he had slain, and Androcles managed to make a meal from it. For some time the lion continued to bring the game he had killed to Androcles, who became quite fond of the huge beast.
But one day a number of soldiers came marching through the forest and found Androcles, and as he could not explain what he was doing they took him prisoner and brought him back to the town from which he had fled. Here his master soon found him and brought him before the authorities, and he was condemned to death because he had fled from his master.
Now it used to be the custom to throw murderers and other criminals to the lions in a huge circus, so that while the criminals were punished the public could enjoy the spectacle of a combat between them and the wild beasts.
So Androcles was condemned to be thrown to the lions, and on the appointed day he was led forth into the Arena and left there alone with only a spear to protect him from the lion. The Emperor of Rome was in the royal box that day and gave the signal for the lion to come out and attack Androcles. But when it came out of its cage and got near Androcles, what do you think it did? Instead of jumping upon him it rubbed up against him and stroked him with its paw and made no attempt to do him any harm.
It was of course the lion which Androcles had met in the forest. The Emperor, surprised at seeing such a strange behavior in so cruel a beast, summoned Androcles to him and asked him how it happened that this particular lion had lost all its cruelty of character. So Androcles told the Emperor all that had happened to him and how the lion was showing its gratitude for his having relieved it of the thorn. Thereupon the Emperor pardoned Androcles and ordered his master to set him free, while the lion was taken back into the forest and let loose to enjoy freedom once more.
Of the Remembrance of Benefits
There was a knight who devoted much of his time to hunting. It happened one day, as he was pursuing this diversion, that he was met by a lame lion, who showed him his foot. The knight dismounted, and drew from it a sharp thorn; and then applied an unguent to the wound, which speedily healed it.
A while after this, the king of the country hunted in the same wood, and caught that lion, and held him captive for many years.
Now, the knight, having offended the king, fled from his anger to the very forest in which he had been accustomed to hunt. There he betook himself to plunder, and spoiled and slew a multitude of travelers. But the king’s sufferance was exhausted; he sent out an army, captured, and condemned him to be delivered to a fasting lion. The knight was accordingly thrown into a pit, and remained in terrified expectation of the hour when he should be devoured. But the lion, considering him attentively, and remembering his former friend, fawned upon him; and remained seven days with him destitute of food.
When this reached the ears of the king, he was struck with wonder, and directed the knight to be taken from the pit. “Friend,” said he, “by what means have you been able to render the lion harmless?”
“As I once rode along the forest, my lord, that lion met me lame. I extracted from his foot a large thorn, and afterward healed the wound, and therefore he has spared me.”
“Well,” returned the king, “since the lion has spared you, I will for this time ratify your pardon. Study to amend your life.”
The knight gave thanks to the king, and ever afterwards conducted himself with all propriety. He lived to a good old age, and ended his days in peace.
- Source: Gesta Romanorum, translated by Charles Swan (London: George Bell and Sons, 1877), no. 104, pp. 180-181.
- The Gesta Romanorum or “Deeds of the Romans” is a collection of some 283 legends and fables. Created as a collection ca. 1330 in England, it served as a source of stories and plots for many of Europe’s greatest writers.
Androcles and the Lion
It happened in the old days at Rome that a slave named Androcles escaped from his master and fled into the forest, and he wandered there for a long time until he was weary and well nigh spent with hunger and despair. Just then he heard a lion near him moaning and groaning and at times roaring terribly. Tired as he was Androcles rose up and rushed away, as he thought, from the lion; but as he made his way through the bushes he stumbled over the root of a tree and fell down lamed, and when he tried to get up there he saw the lion coming towards him, limping on three feet and holding his forepaw in front of him.
Poor Androcles was in despair; he had not strength to rise and run away, and there was the lion coming upon him. But when the great beast came up to him instead of attacking him it kept on moaning and groaning and looking at Androcles, who saw that the lion was holding out his right paw, which was covered with blood and much swollen. Looking more closely at it Androcles saw a great big thorn pressed into the paw, which was the cause of all the lion’s trouble. Plucking up courage he seized hold of the thorn and drew it out of the lion’s paw, who roared with pain when the thorn came out, but soon after found such relief from it that he fawned upon Androcles and showed, in every way that he knew, to whom he owed the relief. Instead of eating him up he brought him a young deer that he had slain, and Androcles managed to make a meal from it. For some time the lion continued to bring the game he had killed to Androcles, who became quite fond of the huge beast.
But one day a number of soldiers came marching through the forest and found Androcles, and as he could not explain what he was doing they took him prisoner and brought him back to the town from which he had fled. Here his master soon found him and brought him before the authorities, and he was condemned to death because he had fled from his master. Now it used to be the custom to throw murderers and other criminals to the lions in a huge circus, so that while the criminals were punished the public could enjoy the spectacle of a combat between them and the wild beasts.
So Androcles was condemned to be thrown to the lions, and on the appointed day he was led forth into the Arena and left there alone with only a spear to protect him from the lion. The Emperor was in the royal box that day and gave the signal for the lion to come out and attack Androcles. But when it came out of its cage and got near Androcles, what do you think it did? Instead of jumping upon him it fawned upon him and stroked him with its paw and made no attempt to do him any harm.
It was of course the lion which Androcles had met in the forest. The Emperor, surprised at seeing such a strange behavior in so cruel a beast, summoned Androcles to him and asked him how it happened that this particular lion had lost all its cruelty of disposition. So Androcles told the Emperor all that had happened to him and how the lion was showing its gratitude for his having relieved it of the thorn. Thereupon the Emperor pardoned Androcles and ordered his master to set him free, while the lion was taken back into the forest and let loose to enjoy liberty once more.
- Source: Joseph Jacobs, European Folk and Fairy Tales (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, © 1916), pp. 107-109.
- Jacobs’ story is a reconstruction from various historical sources.
- In 1913 George Bernard Shaw created a delightful play from this tale, delightful — that is — if you are not offended by Shaw’s irreverent wit.
The Slave and the Lion
A slave ran away from his master, by whom he had been most cruelly treated, and, in order to avoid capture, betook himself into the desert. As he wandered about in search of food and shelter, he came to a cave, which he entered and found to by unoccupied. Really, however, it was a lion’s den, and almost immediately, to the horror of the wretched fugitive, the lion himself appeared. The man gave himself up for lost. But, to his utter astonishment, the lion, instead of springing upon him, came and fawned upon him, at the same time whining and lifting up his paw. Observing it to be much swollen and inflamed, he examined it and found a large thorn embedded in the ball of the foot. He accordingly removed it and dressed the wound as well as he could. And in course of time it healed up completely.
The lion’s gratitude was unbounded. He looked upon the man as his friend, and they shared the cave for some time together. A day came, however, when the slave began to long for the society of his follow men, and he bade farewell to the lion and returned to the town. Here he was presently recognized and carried off in chains to his former master, who resolved to make an example of him, and ordered that he should be thrown to the beasts at the next public spectacle in the theater.
On the fatal day the beasts were loosed into the arena, and among the rest a lion of huge bulk and ferocious aspect. And then the wretched slave was cast in among them. What was the amazement of the spectators, when the lion after one glance bounded up to him and lay down at his feet with every expression of affection and delight! It was his old friend of the cave! The audience clamored that the slave’s life should be spared. And the governor of the town, marveling at such gratitude and fidelity in a beast, decreed that both should receive their liberty.
Source: Æsop’s Fables, translated by V. S. Vernon Jones (London: W. Heinemann, 1912), pp. 31-32.
