LESSON 74 THE SLAVE AND THE LION

THE SLAVE AND THE LION

1. A slave ran away from Rome because his master treated him cruelly.

Day after day he travelled over mountains and through pathless forests, keeping well away from towns and villages, for he knew that no mercy was shown to runaway slaves.

2. At last he came to a desert of sandy rock, dry and barren [1] . There he found a cave and went into it to get shelter from the burning sun. As he was very tired he sank down on a sandy floor and was soon fast asleep. He was awakened by a dreadful sound that echoed through the cave. It was the roar of a lion and the slave sat up and listened. Again he heard the roar and it seemed to him that the lion was either very angry or in great pain.

3. He came to the mouth of the cave to see how he could escape; but soon the great tawny lion drew near. It was limping and tried to keep one of its front feet off the ground. The man sat quite still and watched the lion. He thought that every moment would be his last.

4. But the lion did not spring upon him. It came up to him and held out its forepaw. He took it in his hand and saw that there was a thorn in the soft underpart of the paw. He drew out the thorn as gently as he could. The lion gave a purr of pleasure and bounded away from the man. The slave was very glad to see the lion making off across the desert, and as soon as the sun went down he continued upon his way.

HE DREW OUT THE THORN.

5. A few days after he was unlucky enough to meet a band of Roman soldiers. He was at once brought back to his master. The judges said that he should be put to death for running away; and it was settled that he should be thrown to the lions.

6. The poor captive was placed in a circus [2] with seats all round it and thousands of people came to see him eaten by a lion. The Romans at that time were pagans [3] and thought it was a very amusing thing to see slaves torn to pieces by wild beasts.

The slave stood in the midst of the great circus shaking in every limb. The signal was given, the door of the den opened, and the great lion sprang out.

7. With graceful bounds it circled around the arena [4] , then it saw the captured slave and crouched down on the sands ready to spring. But now a strange thing happened.

8. It bounded up to the slave and fawned at his feet as a dog does when it meets its master. He knew what had happened. It was the lion from whose paw he had taken the thorn.

9. He took the lion by its mane and led it back to its den. The people in the seats around the circus were amazed at the sight and for a while sat with their mouths open in wonder. Then they broke into a loud cheer. The slave was set free and the lion was given to him to keep as a pet.

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[1] barren: Unable to bear crops.

[2] circus: A place for Roman horse races and combats.

[3] pagans: Heathens.

[4] arena: An open space for combats.