THE LION, THE FOX AND THE DEER
There was a lion who had fallen ill and was lying in a stony
ravine, his sluggish limbs stretched out upon the ground. A friendly
fox kept him company, and one day the lion said to her, 'I suppose
you want me to survive, so listen: I've got a craving for the
deer who lives in that dense thicket of pines there in the wilds
of the forest. At the moment I no longer have the strength to
go hunting after deer myself, but if you would agree to lay a
trap with that honeyed speech of yours, the deer could be within
my grasp.' The sly fox went off and found the deer in the wild
woodlands, gambolling in a meadow of tender grass. The fox prostrated
herself before the deer and greeted her, saying that she had
come to relay some auspicious information. 'As you know,' the
fox said, 'the lion is my neighbour, but he is very sick and
about to die, so he has been thinking about who will be king
of the beasts after he is gone. The boar is an idiot, the bear
is lazy, the leopard is impulsive, the tiger is a loner who keeps
to himself... but he thinks that the deer would make a most worthy
ruler, since she has an impressive appearance and lives a long
time. And the antlers of the deer can scare away all kinds of
snakes, why, the antlers of the deer are like trees, not at all
like the horns of a bull! Need I say more? You have been duly
elected: you will rule over the beasts of the hills. When that finally happens,
O Mistress, remember that it was the fox who was the first to inform you. That
is why I came here, and now good-bye, my dear. I need to hurry back to the lion
so that he won't be looking for me again; he relies on my advice in absolutely
everything. And I think it would be good if you also obeyed that venerable old
head. You need to come to his bedside and comfort him in his trouble. Even little
things can sway the thoughts of those who are in the last hours of life; the
souls of the dying can be seen in their eyes.' This is what the sly fox said
to the deer, and the deer's heart swelled at the sound of those deceitful words.
She came to the hollow cave of the beast, with no idea of what lay in store
for her. The lion recklessly sprang up from his bed and launched a hasty attack,
but he only managed to slash the deer's ears with his pointed claws as the wretched
creature ran straight out the door and disappeared into the depths of the woods.
The fox wrung her hands in frustration, since her efforts had proved utterly
futile. As for the lion, he groaned and chewed at thin air, equally beset by
both hunger and despair. Once again he summoned the fox and asked her to find
yet another trick to use to catch the deer. The fox plumbed the very depths
of her cunning and then said, 'This is a difficult task indeed. But nevertheless
I will carry out your command!' The fox then set off after the deer, keen as
a hound on the trail, devising elaborate traps and all kinds of mischief. Whenever
she ran into a shepherd, the fox would ask if he had happened to see a bleeding
deer on the run. And when the shepherd had indeed caught a glimpse of the deer,
he would point the fox in the right direction. She finally found the deer concealed
in the shade, where she had stopped to catch her breath. The fox stood and stared
at the deer, eyebrows raised, the very incarnation of shamelessness. A shiver
ran down the deer's spine and her legs quivered as she angrily said to the fox,
'Oh you abominable creature! If you dare to come near me or utter so much as
a single word, you will live to regret it! Go find some other simpletons that
you can outfox; pick someone else to be king and put him on the throne!' But
the fox was undaunted and said to the deer, 'Can you really be so mean spirited?
So overcome by fear? So suspicious of your friends? The lion only wanted what
was good for you! In an attempt to rouse you from your former idleness, he tugged
at your ear, as a father might do on his deathbed. He wanted to bestow on you
every precept you would need in order to take charge of such a kingdom, but
you could not even withstand the touch of his feeble hand! Instead, you violently
turned aside, inflicting a serious wound on yourself. As for the lion, at this
moment he is even more upset than you are. Now that he has found you to be so
untrustworthy and scatter-brained, he says that the wolf will be appointed king.
Alas alack, what a wicked master he will be! What shall I do then? You are the
one who has brought these evils upon all of us. But come, you must be more brave
in the future and not let yourself be as easily frightened as some sheep from
the flock. I swear these things to you by all the leaves on the trees and by
every spring of water: I want to serve you and only you! There is nothing hostile
about the lion's behaviour; his heartfelt wish is to make you queen of all the
animals!' With these coaxing words, the fox persuaded the tawny deer to enter
once again into that very abode of death. As soon as the lion had the deer trapped
in the depths of his den, he enjoyed a full course meal, greedily devouring
the flesh of the deer, drinking the marrow from her bones and feasting on her
entrails. The fox, meanwhile, stood there waiting; after having delivered the
deer, she was craving a share in the spoils. She stealthily grabbed the brains
of the deer which had fallen to the ground and gobbled them up: this, then,
was the booty which that sly boots got for her work. The lion, meanwhile, had
made an inventory of all the deer's parts, and the brains were nowhere to be
found. He searched around his couch and all over the house. Then the fox confounded
the truth of the matter and said, 'That deer had no brains, so don't waste your
time looking for them. What kind of brains do you expect from a creature who
would come not once but twice into the den of a lion?' |