The mighty lion lived in the big forest, and he would go out every day to catch and kill many of the forest animals, to eat them and satisfy his hunger. So the animals felt fear from the king of the forest, the mighty lion, as he would eat many of them every day.
One day, the animals decided to gather and go to the mighty lion, to talk to him about that problem and try to find appropriate solutions for it. So the animals went to the lion’s den, and the lion gathered with them.
The animals presented their problem to the lion. The lion thought and then decided on a different decision and told them that if one of the animals presented himself every day to be eaten, he would refrain from killing the others, and would be satisfied with eating only one each day, as long as he would not go out and tire himself hunting his prey. The animals agreed and found that this was the optimal solution to stop their suffering with the lion.
The animals set a schedule for each animal, so each would know his day in which he would present himself as a delicious meal for the king of the forest, the mighty lion. The rabbit’s day came, and the rabbit left his house heading toward the lion’s den.
The rabbit was walking with weak steps, having been overcome with sadness because this would be the last day of his life. While the rabbit was walking toward the lion’s den, he passed by an old well. The rabbit advanced toward the well and looked inside it.
The well was deep and frightening, and if an animal fell into it, it would die drowning immediately. While the rabbit was looking at the deep well, he thought of a clever trick. The rabbit completed his way toward the lion’s den, and the lion was waiting for him, feeling severe hunger.
Upon the rabbit’s arrival at the lion’s den, the lion roared and announced his anger at the rabbit’s delay and asked him the reason for his delay. The rabbit told him that he had encountered another lion on his way, and that lion was shouting with his loud voice and declaring that he was the king of the forest, the mighty one.
The lion became angry at the rabbit’s words and asked him to take him to where that lion was who wanted to be the king of the forest. The rabbit went out with the lion to the deep well. When he looked into the well, he found his reflection in the water. The lion thought it was another lion, so he roared and jumped to kill the other lion. The mighty lion fell into the water and drowned.
The animals of the forest learned of the drowning of the mighty lion. The animals rejoiced and thanked the clever rabbit, who had presented them with a useful lesson in life, which is that it is better to be clever than to be strong.
Translated from the story: The Lion and rabbit