"The Lion and the Mouse"
An Aesop's fable with a focus on vocabulary.
One day, a mighty lion, tired from hunting all morning,
laid down to take a nap under a large, shady tree.
Some mice that lived at the foot of the tree
scrambled over the sleeping lion to return to their home.
But just as the last mouse was crawling over him,
the lion woke up.
The lion laid his big paw on the little mouse, trapping him.
The mouse was very afraid. He apologized to the lion for disturbing him
and begged him to spare his life and let him go.
The lion pitied the little mouse, so he lifted his paw and set the mouse free.
Some time later, the lion was walking near the mouse's home.
The lion accidentally stepped on a trap set by a hunter,
and a net made of thick ropes captured the lion and pulled him up into a tree.
The lion struggled to free himself but could not.
His angry roars rumbled through the forest as he became upset and afraid.
The mouse heard the lion's cries.
Remembering the lion's kindness, the mouse ran to the tree and climbed up to the trap.
He used his sharp little mouse teeth
to gnaw through the thick ropes and set the lion free.
The lion and the mouse were friends forever after.
Both of them had learned that it is good to help someone who has helped you.
Moral of the Story:
Good deeds are rewarded.
The End