A1 Reading Plan · Week 1 · Day 5 of 30

The Lion and the Mouse

From Aesop's Fables·~250 words·~2 min read

A tiny mouse promises to help a giant lion. The lion laughs. Later the mouse keeps the promise.

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A Lion asleep in his lair was waked up by a Mouse running over his face. Losing his temper he seized it with his paw and was about to kill it. The Mouse, terrified, piteously entreated him to spare its life. "Please let me go," it cried, "and one day I will repay you for your kindness." The idea of so insignificant a creature ever being able to do anything for him amused the Lion so much that he laughed aloud, and good-humouredly let it go. But the Mouse's chance came, after all. One day the Lion got entangled in a net which had been spread for game by some hunters, and the Mouse heard and recognised his roars of anger and ran to the spot. Without more ado it set to work to gnaw the ropes with its teeth, and succeeded before long in setting the Lion free. "There!" said the Mouse, "you laughed at me when I promised I would repay you: but now you see, even a Mouse can help a Lion."

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5 short questions. Taking it is the best way to make the story and its new words actually stick. Scroll up to re-read any time.

Question 1 of 5vocabulary
What does 'lair' mean in the story?
Question 2 of 5vocabulary
What does 'spare' mean in 'spare its life'?
Question 3 of 5vocabulary
What does 'gnaw' mean in the story?
Question 4 of 5comprehension
Why did the Lion let the Mouse go at first?
Question 5 of 5comprehension
How did the Mouse help the Lion later?
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Source: V. S. Vernon Jones translation, public domain. The original tale, not a simplified or adapted version.
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