The lion and the mouse - wikipedia The lion and the mouse For other uses, see The Lion and the Mouse ( disambiguation ). Woodcut showing two scenes from the fable in the Ysopu hystoriado, Seville 1521 The Lion and the Mouse is one of Aesop 's Fables, numbered 150 in the Perry Index. There are also Eastern variants of the story, all of which demonstrate mutual dependence regardless of size or status. In the Renaissance the fable was provided with a sequel condemning social ambition. Contents 1 The fable in literature 2 Artistic interpretations 3 Popular applications 4 The anti-fable 5 Eastern versions 6 See also 7 References 8 External links The fable in literature In the oldest versions, a lion threatens a mouse that wakes him from sleep. The mouse begs forgiveness and makes the point that such unworthy prey would bring the lion no honour. The lion then agrees and sets the mouse free. Later, the lion is netted by hunters. Hearing it roaring, the mouse remembers its clemency and frees it by gnawing through the ropes. The moral of the story is that mercy brings its reward and that there is no being so small that it can not help a greater. Later English versions reinforce this by having the mouse promise to return the lion 's favor, to its sceptical amusement. The Scottish poet Robert Henryson, in a version he included in his Morall Fabillis in the 1480s, expands the plea that the mouse makes and introduces serious themes of law, justice and politics. The poem consists of 43 seven - lined stanzas of which the first twelve recount a meeting with Aesop in a dream and six stanzas at the end draw the moral ; the expanded fable itself occupies stanzas 13 - 36. A political lesson of a different kind occurs in Francis Barlow 's 1687 edition of the fables. There the poet Aphra Behn comments that no form of service is to be despised, for just as the humble mouse had aided the king of the beasts, so ' An Oak did once a glorious Monarch save ' by serving as a hiding place when King Charles II was escaping after the battle of Worcester. The 16th century French poet Clément Marot also recounts an expanded version of the fable in the course of his Épitre à son ami Lyon Jamet ( Letter to his friend Lyon Jamet ), first published in 1534. This is an imitation of the Latin poet Horace 's Epistles, addressed to friends and often applying Aesopian themes to their situations. In this case, Marot has been imprisoned and begs Jamet to help him get released, playing on his friend 's forename and styling himself the lowly rat ( rather than mouse ). La Fontaine 's Fables included a more succinct version of the story ( II. 11 ) in the following century. Artistic interpretations The fable has been a favourite with artists and sculptors. The Flemish painter Frans Snyders was responsible for at least two versions. One of these used to hang in the Great Hall at Chequers, the country house of the Prime Minister, and was retouched by Winston Churchill so as to highlight the barely visible mouse. In 1973 the painting was restored and the overpainting removed ; it now hangs in an ante room to the Great Parlour there. The fable was also the subject of a painting by the French artist Vincent Chevilliard ( 1841 -- 1904 ) and exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1881. The Austrian artist Gustav Klimt incorporated a reference to the beginning of the story on the left hand side of his painting `` The Fable '' in 1883. There a lion sleeps beneath a shrub, on the leafless twigs of which mice are at play. Sculptors turned to the fable in the 20th century. One of them was the maker of church furniture, Robert ( Mouseman ) Thompson, who came by his name for incorporating a mouse into most of his carvings. He did this legitimately in the Church of Our Lady and St Michael in Workington, Cumbria, where the underside of one of the seats in the choir stalls, installed in 1926, depicts the fable of the lion and the mouse. Sculpture by Tom Otterness at the Beelden aan Zee museum in Scheveningen ( the lion is lying trussed up on its side, contemplated by the mouse that stands upright with its hands clasped behind its back ). A Marshall Fredericks statue of 1957 seeks to make the lion less threatening to children. The sculpture was commissioned for the Eastland Center in Harper Woods, Michigan. The lion is carved from limestone and has a large round head with stylized, uniformly coiled ringlets. Reclining on its back, it grins at the little mouse perched on its paw. This was cast from gilt bronze and gold plated, which led to its being stolen numerous times. One was returned 50 years after its theft and exhibited at the Detroit Historical Museum in 2007. A copy of the whole statue is on exhibition in the sculpture garden of the Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum. Another American sculptor, Tom Otterness, has made the fable the subject of an equally child - friendly sculpture among the 23 he installed on the outdoor terrace of the seaside Beelden aan Zee museum in Scheveningen, The Netherlands, in 2004. In this the lion is lying trussed up on its side, contemplated by the mouse that stands upright with its hands clasped behind its back. A similar piece of public art by German sculptor Peter Fritzsche ( b. 1938 ) is in Eisenhüttenstadt. His lion lies on its back with its legs bound and is perched on a plinth round the sides of which is carved a translation of Ivan Krylov 's version of the fable. This dates the work back to the days of the Communist administration. Among musical settings have been one published in New York by Mabel Wood Hill in her Aesop 's Fables Interpreted Through Music ( 1920 ) and Werner Egk 's Der Löwe und die Maus for small orchestra and children 's choir, performed in 1931. The fable was also included in Edward Hughes ' Songs from Aesop 's fables for children 's voices and piano ( 1965 ), as the second of Anthony Plog 's set for narrator, piano and horn ( 1989 / 93 ) and among the fables set by Yvonne Gillespie for narrator and full orchestra ( 2001 ). In addition, David Edgar Walther made of it a ' short operatic drama ' in his 2009 Aesop 's Fables. Popular applications Lithograph in black pencil on cream - coloured background by John Doyle ( artist ), 1844 Illustrations of the fable have appeared on domestic objects, including a Chelsea plate in 1755 and a tile in the Minton Aesop 's Fables series during the 1880s. In 1990 it was to be used on one of a set of four Zambian stamps featuring folk tales. In 19th century Britain the political cartoonist John Doyle adapted the fable to one of his monthly series of prints in February 1844. In it the mouse nibbling at the net is Earl Russell, who prevailed on the House of Lords to free the leonine Daniel O'Connell from the imprisonment he had incurred for trying to repeal the Irish Act Of Union. In the United States the fable was applied to a case of corrupt lobbying in a Puck cartoon for 23 July 1913. Under the title ' Even a rat may help free a lion ', the House of Representatives is shown enmeshed in the nets of `` Lobbyism '', from which Colonel ( Martin ) Mulhall is about to free it by his revelations of bribe - taking. The fable was made into an animated cartoon by Aesop 's Film Fables in 1922 ; there was also a two - minute cartoon incorporating the fable and ending with an advertisement for Coca - Cola as a promoter of friendship that was issued in 1953. In 1966 the National Film Board of Canada ( NFB ) adapted the story as The Bear and the Mouse ; it was issued as a short feature film using real animals with voice - over. This film was followed 10 years later by an NFB animated short The Lion and the Mouse, directed by Evelyn Lambart. In 1946, a New York game company produced the attractive The Lion and the Mouse game, with detailed molded plastic pieces of a lion, a mouse and two hunters in each of four colors. A photo of the game can be found as part of an article on games based on books and fables. Though the fable is frequently a subject of children 's literature, Jerry Pinkney 's The Lion & the Mouse ( 2009 ) tells it through pictures alone, without the usual text of such books, and won the 2010 Caldecott Medal for its illustrations. The story is updated and adapted to fit the conditions of the Serengeti National Park, in which it is set. The anti-fable The Neo-Latin fabulist Laurentius Abstemius provided a sequel to the story with an opposite social message in his Hecatomythium ( 1499 ). In this the lion promises the mouse any reward it cares to name after setting him free. The mouse asks for the lion 's daughter in marriage, but the bride steps on her husband by accident on the marriage night. Where Aesop 's fable teaches that no - one should be despised, however low in the social scale, this reinterpretation suggests that one should not try to rise out of one 's class through marriage. A later verse treatment by Hieronymus Osius is followed by the same moral. In England, both the Francis Barlow ( 1687 ) and Roger L'Estrange ( 1692 ) collections include both versions of the fable, as does Samuel Croxall ( 1721 ). He, however, reads into the story a lesson on lack of judgment. The story that Abstemius could have had in mind when inventing his fable of an unequal marriage ridiculously terminated occurs in the Hebrew Bible. Amaziah, king of the lesser power of Judah, sent a challenge to Jehoash, king of Israel, who replied with a dismissive fable : ' A thistle in Lebanon sent to a cedar in Lebanon, saying, Give your daughter to my son for a wife, and a wild beast of Lebanon passed by and trampled down the thistle '. ( 2 Kings 14.9 ; repeated in 2 Chronicles 25.18, English Standard Version ) The characters are different there, but the core of the story about the end of presumptuous ambition remains the same. Eastern versions The fable is introduced as an illustration into a longer Egyptian myth in a papyrus of indeterminate date towards the start of the Common Era. A lion previously unacquainted with man comes across examples of his cruelty and exploitation of other animals and decides to hunt him down. On his way the lion spares a mouse that comes beneath his paw and it promises to return the favour. This the mouse does by gnawing the lion free when he is netted in a trap set by man. In general the evidence points to the tale being adapted from a Greek source. There was a long established Greek trading colony in Egypt and the document appeared during the reign of the Ptolemaic dynasty, which was of Greek origin itself. There is also an Indian variant of the story in the Panchatantra, but that is told of mice and elephants. Here too it is introduced into a larger context, in this case a discussion about appropriate friendship, and illustrates the advice ' Make friends, however strong or weak they be '. An elephant herd inadvertently tramples a tribe of mice, who send representatives to beg the elephant king to avoid their settlement in future. Later the herd is trapped and the grateful mice come to their rescue and free them. When the story was carried to China by Buddhist monks, the benefitted animal reverted to a tiger, another member of the cat family. See also Androcles References Jump up ^ This is fable 8, a modernised version of which can be found on the Glasgow University website Jump up ^ `` Facsimile edition online ''. Mythfolklore.net. Retrieved 2012 - 07 - 02. Jump up ^ An analysis of the poem can be found online Jump up ^ `` Elizur Wright 's 1841 translation ''. Readbookonline.net. Retrieved 2014 - 06 - 08. Jump up ^ `` The Lion and the Mouse - Frans Snyders - Painting Reproduction 8797 ''. Topofart.com. 2012 - 04 - 21. Retrieved 2012 - 07 - 02. Jump up ^ `` The fable of the Lion and the Mouse Frans Snyders - Oil Painting Reproduction ''. 1st-art-gallery.com. Retrieved 2012 - 07 - 02. Jump up ^ `` People : May 18, 1970 ''. Time Magazine. May 18, 1970. ^ Jump up to : `` Gordon Brown approves first public display of art from Chequers ''. The Art Newspaper. May 2008. Retrieved 5 August 2013. Jump up ^ `` The Lion and the Mouse ( oil on canvas ) ''. Bridgeman Art Library. Retrieved 5 August 2013. Jump up ^ `` Fable - Reproduction - View online ''. Klimtgallery.org. Retrieved 2012 - 07 - 02. Jump up ^ `` Our Lady and St Michael 's Church, Workington, Cumbria ''. Visitcumbria.com. Retrieved 2012 - 07 - 02. Jump up ^ ( 1 ) Archived July 14, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ http://www.marshallfredericks.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/img_0008-medium.jpg Jump up ^ Photo on Panoramio Jump up ^ `` Score available online ''. Urresearch.rochester.edu. Retrieved 2014 - 06 - 08. Jump up ^ A performance on You Tube Jump up ^ `` Victoria & Albert Museum site ''. Collections.vam.ac.uk. 2009 - 08 - 25. Retrieved 2012 - 07 - 02. Jump up ^ `` Image du Blog chezminette87.centerblog.net ''. centerblog.net. Jump up ^ `` British Cartoon Archive ''. Cartoons.ac.uk. Retrieved 2012 - 07 - 02. Jump up ^ `` Even a rat may help to free a lion -- La Fontaine ''. loc.gov. Jump up ^ Mark Grossman, Political Corruption in America, ABC - CLIO 2003 p. 408 Jump up ^ `` The Lion And The Mouse 1953 - Video Dailymotion - Available online ''. Dailymotion.com. 2006 - 12 - 19. Retrieved 2012 - 07 - 02. Jump up ^ F.W. Remmler & Ingmar Remmler ( 1966 ). `` The Bear and Mouse ''. Film. National Film Board of Canada. Jump up ^ Lambart, Evelyn ( 1975 ). `` The Lion and the Mouse ''. Animated short. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 29 June 2011. Jump up ^ `` Games by the Book ''. The Big Game Hunter. 2012 - 02 - 29. Retrieved 2014 - 06 - 08. Jump up ^ `` ALA page on the Caldecott medal winners 2010 ''. Ala.org. Retrieved 2012 - 07 - 02. Jump up ^ Mentioned in his interview on YouTube Jump up ^ `` Fable 52 ''. Aesopus.pbworks.com. Retrieved 2012 - 07 - 02. Jump up ^ Phryx Aesopus, 1564, fable 150 Jump up ^ `` Fable 32, `` The Fatal Marriage '' ``. Archive.org. Retrieved 2012 - 07 - 02. Jump up ^ Geraldine Pinch, Handbook of Egyptian Mythology, Santa Barbara CA, 2002 pp. 72 - 3 Jump up ^ Francisco Rodríguez Adrados & Gert - Jan van Dijk, History of the Graeco - Latin fable, Vol. 1, Leiden NL 1999 p. 710 - 13 Jump up ^ `` Panchatantra II. 8 ''. Epanchatantra.com. Retrieved 2012 - 07 - 02. Jump up ^ Priyadarsi Mukherji, `` The Indian influence on Chinese literature '', in East Asian literatures : Japanese, Chinese and Korean : an interface with India, New Delhi 2006, p. 187 External links Works related to The Lion and the Mouse, fable by Aesop at Wikisource Aesop Aesop 's Fables The Ant and the Grasshopper The Ass and his Masters The Ass and the Pig The Ass Carrying an Image The Ass in the Lion 's Skin The Astrologer who Fell into a Well The Bear and the Travelers The Belly and the Members The Bird - catcher and the Blackbird The Bird in Borrowed Feathers The Boy Who Cried Wolf The Cat and the Mice The Cock and the Jewel The Cock, the Dog and the Fox The Crow and the Pitcher The Crow and the Snake The Deer without a Heart The Dog and Its Reflection The Dog and the Wolf The Dove and the Ant The Farmer and the Stork The Farmer and the Viper The Fir and the Bramble The Fisherman and the Little Fish The Fowler and the Snake The Fox and the Crow The Fox and the Grapes The Fox and the Lion The Fox and the Mask The Fox and the Sick Lion The Fox and the Stork The Fox and the Weasel The Fox and the Woodman The Frog and the Ox The Frogs Who Desired a King The Goat and the Vine The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs The Honest Woodcutter The Horse and the Donkey The Horse that Lost its Liberty The Lion and the Mouse The Lion, the Bear and the Fox The Man with two Mistresses The Mischievous Dog The Miser and his Gold The Mountain in Labour The Mouse and the Oyster The North Wind and the Sun The Oak and the Reed The Old Man and Death The Old Woman and the Doctor The Rose and the Amaranth The Satyr and the Traveller The Sick Kite The Snake and the Crab The Snake in the Thorn Bush The Tortoise and the Hare Town Mouse and Country Mouse The Travellers and the Plane Tree The Trees and the Bramble The Two Pots The Walnut Tree Washing the Ethiopian white The Wolf and the Crane The Wolf and the Lamb The Woodcutter and the Trees The Young Man and the Swallow Apocryphal An ass eating thistles The Bear and the Gardener Belling the cat ( also known as The Mice in Council ) The Blindman and the Lame The Boy and the Filberts Chanticleer and the Fox The Dog in the Manger The drowned woman and her husband The Elm and the Vine The Fox and the Cat The Gourd and the Palm - tree The Hawk and the Nightingale Jumping from the frying pan into the fire The milkmaid and her pail The miller, his son and the donkey The Monkey and the Cat The Priest and the Wolf The Scorpion and the Frog The Shepherd and the Lion Still waters run deep The Wolf in Sheep 's Clothing Related Jataka tales Panchatantra Perry Index The labyrinth of Versailles The Lion 's Share Aesop 's Fables ( album ) Screen adaptations Aesop 's Film Fables The Grasshopper and the Ants Print adaptations Ysopet The Morall Fabillis of Esope the Phrygian `` The Cock and the Jasp '' `` The Taill of how this forsaid Tod maid his Confessioun to Freir Wolf Waitskaith '' `` The Taill of Schir Chanticleir and the Foxe '' `` The Taill of the Uponlandis Mous and the Burges Mous '' La Fontaine 's Fables Translators Demetrius of Phalerum Phaedrus Babrius Avianus Dositheus Magister Alexander Neckam Adémar de Chabannes Odo of Cheriton John Lydgate Kawanabe Kyōsai Laurentius Abstemius Roger L'Estrange Gabriele Faerno Hieronymus Osius Marie de France Robert Henryson Jean de La Fontaine Ivan Krylov Nicolas Trigault Zhang Geng Robert Thom Zhou Zuoren portal : Novels Panchatantra aka : Tantrakhyayika -- Panchakhyana -- Kalila and Dimna -- The Lights of Canopus -- The Fables of Bidpai / Pilpay -- The Moral Philosophy of Doni -- Tantri Kamandaka -- Nandaka - prakarana Stories The Blue Jackal The Tortoise and the Birds The Bear and the Gardener The Lion and the Mouse The Mouse Turned into a Maid The Deer without a Heart The Ass in the Lion 's Skin The Brahmin and the Mongoose The Fox and the Cat The milkmaid and her pail Related works Aesop 's Fables La Fontaine 's Fables Hikayat Panca Tanderan Hitopadesha Jataka tales Kathasaritsagara One Thousand and One Nights Śukasaptati Other media The Tall Tales of Vishnu Sharma Editors, translators, adapters Early Vishnu Sharma ( putative author ) Abu'l - Fazl ibn Mubarak Borzūya Durgasimha Jean de La Fontaine Antoine Galland John of Capua Kshemendra Ibn al - Muqaffa ' Narayana Abu'l - Ma'ali Nasrallah Thomas North Rudaki Simeon Seth Modern Theodor Benfey Gustav Bickell Hermann Brockhaus Edward Backhouse Eastwick Franklin Edgerton A.N.D. Haksar Johannes Hertel Joseph Jacobs Ion Keith - Falconer Patrick Olivelle N.M. Penzer Arthur W. Ryder Silvestre de Sacy C.H. Tawney Charles Wilkins Ramsay Wood Topics Beast fable Frame story Katha Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Lion_and_the_Mouse&oldid=854549078 '' Categories : Aesop 's Fables Fables by Laurentius Abstemius La Fontaine 's Fables Fictional lions Fictional mice and rats Literary duos Literature featuring anthropomorphic characters Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikisource Català Deutsch Español 한국어 Italiano עברית 日本 語 ਪੰਜਾਬੀ پنجابی Português Српски / srpski Svenska 5 more Edit links This page was last edited on 12 August 2018, at 04 : 47 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. 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Question: the moral of the story of the lion and the mouse
Answer: that mercy brings its reward and that there is no being so small that it cannot help a greater