In the forest lived a lion who was very proud of his strength, so much so that he might kill any animal walking safely in his way just for amusement. All the animals in the forest were worried about their survival after this arrogant lion afflicted them.
The animals gathered to decide what to do about this matter that threatened their lives. The bear said at the beginning of the meeting: If the lion continues with this matter, he won’t leave any of us in the forest. He kills much more than he really needs. The monkey said: We must come up with something from this meeting to stop this massacre. They all agreed and went to meet the lion.
They said to him: Oh king of the forest, we came to you to ask you for a small request. The lion said to them arrogantly: Now what will this request be? They said to him: You are the king of the forest and the king of all animals, but soon there won’t be any animals for you to rule. Therefore, we beg you to stop this unreasonable killing, and we promise you that one of us will come to you daily for your food. The lion agreed and warned them in case they broke their promise.
From that day, the animals started drawing lots every day to choose which animal would go as prey to the lion, fearing his severity and revenge if they didn’t fulfill the promise. One day, the lot fell on the hare to be lunch for the lion. All the animals said goodbye to him and sent him to the lion. But the hare was a smart animal. He was saying to himself how he would die at the hands of the harsh lion. Then he saw an old well on the way. It was very deep, and it was known among animals that it was dangerous to approach it. He thought of a clever plan.
The hare went a little to sleep near the well until evening came. Then he went on his way toward the lion. The lion was terribly hungry at that time. When the lion saw a small hare coming toward him, he became even more angry.
Then he said to him: You little one, how dare they send you to me? How dare they send such a small animal? I will kill them all. He roared with a loud voice. The hare said: It’s not my fault, oh great lion. There were three other hares with me, but on the way here, another lion attacked us. I managed to escape, but the other three were eaten by this other lion.
The lion was amazed and said to him: What? Another lion in my kingdom? Take me to him immediately. The lion’s anger increased more and more. Who is this lion who dares to attack my kingdom and prey on my food? What a rude lion.
The hare took the lion to the well and pointed to him from a distance, saying: The other lion jumped at us from inside the well when we tried to drink some water from the well. The lion hurried in anger to the well.
Another lion appeared inside the well on the surface of the water. He screamed in his face. What the arrogant lion didn’t realize in his anger was that he was looking at his reflection, until the roaring sound that answered him was the echo of his voice. But his arrogance blinded him, and the lion believed the other lion was challenging him. He jumped and fell inside the well, and this was the end of the evil arrogant lion.
Translated from the story: The Lion and The Hare