The Lion and the Mouse

Description

A reckless mouse accidentally scampers across a sleeping lion's paw. The lion awakens with a roar, but he lets the mouse go free. In gratitude, the mouse promises to help the lion if he is ever in need. The lion laughs at the very idea, but sometimes even a little mouse can be strong, and even a lion can be helpless. Bernadette Watts has created an appealing jungle setting for her simple retelling of a favorite Aesop fable. A tiny mouse helps a mighty lion, who once showed him mercy, escape from a trap.

Though many modern scholars dispute his existence, Aesop's life was chronicled by first century Greek historians who wrote that Aesop, or Aethiop, was born into Greek slavery in 620 B.C. Freed because of his wit and wisdom, Aesop supposedly traveled throughout Greece and was employed at various times by the governments of Athens and Corinth. Some of Aesop's most recognized fables are The Tortoise and the Hare, The Fox and the Grapes, and The Ant and the Grasshopper. His simple but effective morals are widely used and illustrated for children.