The Lion and the Mouse

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The Lion and the Mouse

• An ancient story from the Panchatantra

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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 lions sleep was disturbed and he woke up.
  He saw the mouse and he became angry. The lion
  roared Ill kill you. The mouse was
  frightened. What could he do?

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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.
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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.
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• 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?

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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.
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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.

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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.

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We can be like the Lion or the mouse

• The Lion.
• 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.

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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
  Gods work.
• 4. We are the Body of Christ and we should help
  each other as we have needs.

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Acknowledgements

• Panchatantra published by Adarsh Books, New
  Delhi, India, 2003.