Week 3 Story: The Day I Befriended a Lion

The Day I Befriended a Lion

I finally did it. I was finally able to escape the horrible conditions and my unforgiving master. I can't remember exactly what happened this morning; all I remember is running as fast as I could, zigzagging through the forest to try to escape the dogs that they sent after me. 

After thirty minutes of aimlessly wandering through the forest, I began to worry. I knew I was lost. I had heard of a town across the state boarder where I could be free. I was hoping to make it there, but it doesn't seem like I am making any progress. I kept walking and walking, until finally I ran into something terrifying.

I was walking with my head down when I stumbled upon a lion. A huge, male lion. As soon as I realized what it was, I began running for my life in the other direction. The whole time I was thinking that he would definitely catch up to me. After running for a minute, I turned around to see where the lion was. I saw the lion through the trees, still laying in the same spot, looking at me. 

I began walking slowly towards him. Once I arrived at his side, I realized that he was hurting. His paw had an enormous thorn wedged between two of his toes. He did not seem like he wanted to hurt me, so I decided to help him. I found a stick that I was able to temporarily wedge between his toes in order to separate them while I removed the thorn. The lion roared as I slowly pulled out a thorn that was three inches long. After I removed it, I wrapped my sock around the wound to attempt to stop the bleeding.

The lion began licking my hands and purring affectionately. I knew that I had saved his life. Since I was on the run and he was still healing, I decided to stay and take care of him. I followed him back to his cave, and he laid down in the dirt. I sat at the front of the cave, and I ate some berries. While he was asleep, I went out to hunt and bring him back some meat. After he ate, he licked my hands with appreciation. 

During the third night in the cave, I woke up to voices outside. I ran towards the back of the cave, but the light quickly followed me. I was caught. The men drug me out of the cave and threw me in a covered wagon. 

That is the last thing I remember until I woke up in the middle of a huge arena. One man told me that the Emperor sentenced me to death by lion. I couldn't believe it. The crowd was roaring around me, yelling threatening remarks and laughing at my misfortune. I bowed my head and prayed that I would not get hurt. I just wanted to make it to the town over so I could be free. 

A short time later, there was a loud siren followed by a man raising a large metal gate. A lion jumped out from behind the gate and started lunging towards me. I had never been so terrified in my entire life, even when I was running from my master. I curled up, continued praying, and tightly closed my eyes. A few seconds later, I heard the crowd gasp. I peeked through my fingers, and I felt the hot breath of the lion on the back of my neck. I turned around slowly, and looked right into his eyes. 

I knew him. I recognized this lion. It was the same one that I befriended; the one with the thorn. He looked in my eyes, and I smirked at him. He quickly began licking my hands and rolling on the ground in happiness. 

The Emperor was amazed at the entire situation. He yelled to the guards to release both of us. I reached over and gave the lion a huge hug. I had never felt more relief in my entire life. The lion and I walked out of the arena and walked towards the forest. I took the lion back to his cave, we said our goodbyes, and then I headed towards the town where I could finally be free.

I returned every couple of months to visit the lion, and we remained friends for years.

Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.

Author's Note:

The story Androcles and the Lion had one of the most exciting plots out of the stories. It started with an escaped slave who came across the injured lion. At first, he was cautious and did not want to approach the lion. But when he realized it was safe, he then approached the lion. He found out that the lion had an injured paw; there was a large thorn wedged inside of it. The slave helped the lion heal and took care of him. They soon became friends. Then, the slave was captured, and his punishment was to be put in the lion's pen and mauled. But when the lion approached him, he realized it was his friend, so he began licking him. The Emperor was amazed, so he let both of them go free.

When I rewrote this story, I decided to write it from a different point of view. This story was written in third person, but I would like to write it from the slave's point of view. I think this really humanizes the story and adds some emotion. I wanted to be able to describe in more detail how the slave felt and bring in some background of his story and why he ran into the injured lion in the first place.


Bibliography:

Aesop's Fables (Jacobs) from The Fables of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs (1894); Androcles and the Lion


Image information:

Androcles and the Lion by Joseph Jacobs. Web Source.