An ancient story from the Panchatantra The Lion and the Mouse An ancient story from the Panchatantra

Once there lived a lion in his den deep in the forest Once there lived a lion in his den deep in the forest. A mouse made his home in it as well. One day the lion felt tired and fell asleep. The mouse came out of his hole. He was in a playful mood. He came into the den. He climbed on the lion and danced on his back. He danced with great joy. The lion’s sleep was disturbed and he woke up. He saw the mouse and he became angry. The lion roared “ I’ll kill you”. The mouse was frightened. What could he do?

The mouse begged the lion, “Have mercy on me and spare my life” The mouse begged the lion, “Have mercy on me and spare my life”. “If you leave me alive I will repay you someday in the future”, he exclaimed.

The lion said to himself, “The mouse is a tiny weak creature, how can he repay me? However the Lion took pity on the mouse and let him go. He forgot everything about the mouse.

A few months later, a hunter spread his net to catch the Lion A few months later, a hunter spread his net to catch the Lion. The lion was caught in the net. He was afraid for his life. He tried his best to get free but all his efforts were in vain. He roared loudly for help. Who could save his life? Who do you think came to save the Lion?

You are right. It was the tiny mouse You are right. It was the tiny mouse. The mouse nibbled his way through the net and in a short time the Lion was free. The Lion thanked the mouse for saving his life. He said to himself, “We should show mercy to all. Even small creatures are helpful”.

The moral of this story is; Mercy is a great virtue. Do not despise small things because one day they may be great. Do not despise people of low status in our society because one day they may have the power to help you.

What Biblical truth can we learn from this story? Psalm 75 verse 6-7 “Promotion comes neither from the east or the west or the desert; God exalts a person of no status and he humbles another important person”. “Be careful, pride comes before a fall. God resists the proud and blesses the humble”. James 4 verse 6. The Lion is like God. The Lion had mercy on the mouse. God is the King of Kings and the Lion is the King of the beasts. Both have great power in their realms. They chose to exercise mercy rather than great power. Eph 2 v 4 “God is rich in mercy because of His great love for us”.

We can be like the Lion or the mouse When we have the opportunity to exercise power, let us use it with mercy. When we have the opportunity to pass judgement according to the law let us exercise mercy. The Mouse. Although we are small we can help our leaders by doing the small things that set them free to be great leaders. Every little bit we that is in our power to do, will help be a blessing to the life of someone else.

The truths of this simple story are consistent with Kingdom values. This story is a story Jesus could have told about the Kingdom of God. It contains truths about the Kingdom of God. We are commanded to teach the truths of the Kingdom of God to all people everywhere. We must communicate in a way they understand. The truths of the kingdom in this story are; 1. Mercy is a greater virtue than judgement. 2. The least in the kingdom of God can be the greatest. 3. We need each other whether great or small in God’s work. 4. We are the Body of Christ and we should help each other as we have needs.

Acknowledgements “Panchatantra” published by Adarsh Books, New Delhi, India, 2003.