FOUR AGES

“Time for bed, little anklebiter.”

“Oh, bedtime story, Dad!”

“No, no, Figlio. Not tonight, son; we have an early start tomorrow, and we won’t even have time for you to ask for five more minutes when you wake up.”

“But daaad...!”

“No buts, Figlio. So, chop chop, time to sleep.”

“Pleeease, Dad! I need just one little story, a teeny tiny one. Pleeease?” Figlio put his little hands together as if in prayer.

“Okay, fine. Just one, and then you’ll go to sleep, no complaints.”

“Yessir!”

“So, this is the one my dad used to tell me when I was about your age. It’s about lions and mice…”

THE LION AND THE MOUSE

Written by: Isabel Chiwibel (Fiverr name @Chiwibel)

Edited by: Celina Mike (Fiverr name @Celinawrite)

Many moons ago, there was a simple farm mouse. He spent his days caring for his flower garden and crops, alone, in the tranquility of his quaint home, with nothing else to ask of life. One day, he received a visitor, a rare occurrence for the simple mouse, but he’d always been the kind of mouse who always helped others no matter the cost to himself, so when he saw the visitor in front of him, he immediately froze in place. He didn’t even dare to breathe. That mouse stood so still; you would’ve thought he was a statue.

The visitor was a majestic lion that had crawled into his small cabin; the big cat’s entire body was covered with open wounds. His eyes were cloudy, and his lips as dry as the mouse’s fields on the harshest summers. The mouse quickly pushed water into the lion’s mouth from his well and carefully dragged him into his home. His bed was too small for the lion’s immense body, and the planks curved and creaked under his weight, but the mouse mended his wounds with patience and a smile.

The mouse fed and bathed the lion for three days and three nights, changing his bandages and disinfecting his wounds. “Why did you help me, little mouse, when our people are such bitter enemies?” asked the lion on his third night, “What will you ask me in return?”

“Nothing,” replied the mouse. “I just want you to get better and return to your family.”

The mouse’s simple answer surprised the lion so much that he knelt before the mouse and thanked him sincerely for his kindness. The lion swore by his golden mane that one day if they ever met again, he would repay the mouse.

The next morning, the lion was completely healed and ready to leave. The newly made friends said their goodbyes with a hug and a smile, and the mouse watched sadly as the lion’s shape disappeared into the distance before returning once again back to his simple and tranquil life.

Months passed until a terrible storm came to the mouse’s province one day when he returned from the nearby town’s market. Because of the strong winds, he was forced to seek refuge from the heavy rains among the trees. From there, he followed a dirt trail until he reached a large, breathtaking mansion. Desperate to escape this foul weather, the mouse knocked on the door.

It was none other than the lion he had once saved who opened the door, clad in the most expensive robes the mouse had ever seen in his simple life. “My friend!” said the mouse, his teeth clattering from the cold wind and rain that assaulted him, “it’s so good to see you again! Can I come in?”

The lion eyed him for a long moment and told the mouse that he must be confused, for he’d never laid his eyes upon the other. The mouse was surprised to hear this, but he recalled that the lion had languished under his roof those three days. The lion shook his head, denying that such a thing had happened.

“Please give me refuge,” the mouse pleaded, “in exchange for the favor you promised me.”

The lion’s semblance grew cold and, without saying anything else, shut the door in the mouse’s nozzle, hitting his whiskers. So the mouse returned home, shivering and alone, with a cold that lasted three days and three nights and a cough that never left him.

...

“Dad! That’s a terrible story! Stories are supposed to have happy endings!”

“Well, son, not all of them do.”

“But that was so unfair, Dad. The lion promised to help the mouse!”

“You’ll learn to understand much better when you’re older, Figlio. Yes, you will understand that the lions and lionesses in our world aren’t always trustworthy; as kings and queens, they can be tricky folk. You can’t blindly trust the word of royalty.”

“And what happened to the mouse?”

“Oh, I suppose when he returned to his farm he never again accepted visitors. Or maybe he did. What do you think happened after? Do you think the mouse became cruel to others because of his bad experience? Or did he remain good and kind, even after being betrayed by a friend?”

“This shows that life is not easy, Dad. I think not who you helped may help you in return.

The End! Stay tuned for the next Fable next week!

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