THERE was a Shepherd who owned a multitude of goats. Among these was one
Goat, weak and lame. You might suppose that the shepherd took especial
care of this lame Goat, but not he; on the contrary, he beat him and
bullied him, and made his whole life a misery.
A time came when the lame Goat could stand it no longer. So watching his
chance, he gave his master the slip, and into the forest and far away.
As he hobbled along, he trembled to think of the ferocious beasts that
the forest was full of; but even to be devoured by an evil beast was
better far than to be for ever beaten.
The lame Goat made up his mind that the only way by which he could save
his life was to gain the protection of some powerful beast. So he kept
his eyes open as he hobbled along; and, by-and-by, what should he see
but a dark cave, and at the mouth of the cave, a Lion's footprints. Now
a Lion was just the beast the Goat wanted, for to begin with, he is the
King of Beasts, and all the other beasts fear him; and then, too, he is
a noble beast, and if he passes his word he will never break it. Of
course, it might be that the Lion would eat our Goat first, and ask
questions afterwards; but the Goat had to take his chance of that.
The upshot of it was, that the lame Goat sat down by the Lion's den, and
waited.
By-and-by, trippity trip, trippity trip, and up came a Jackal. Said the
Jackal to the Goat, "God bless you, Gaffer Goat, you'll be the first
food that has passed my lips this many a day."
"Dear grandson," said the Goat, "God bless you too. I'm here to be
eaten, that is true enough; but I'm meat for your betters. He whose
footprints you see here has bidden me wait until he wants me."
The Jackal looked at the footprints, and saw they were a Lion's. "Aha,"
thought he, "let sleeping dogs lie. If I eat the Lion's meat, the Lion
will devour my cubs." Then he went away sorrowful.
A little while, and trappity trap, trappity trap, up came a Wolf. Quoth
the Wolf--
"Well met, Nuncle Goat; you make my mouth water. A five days' fast is
sauce for the dinner."
"Well met, my dear nephew," says the lame Goat. "But you had better
leave me alone. I'm food for your betters. Look upon these footprints,
and let me tell you that he who made them has bidden me wait here until
he is hungry."
"Oho," said the Wolf, "a Lion. Who tackles the strong will not live
long. If I eat King Lion's meat, King Lion will make a meal of my cubs."
Away went the Wolf, trappity trap, trappity trap.
A little while more, and swish, swish, swish, the Lion himself came
stalking slowly along, whisking away the flies with his tail. When he
saw the Goat sitting beside his den, says he--
"Friend Goat, what want you here? Are you anxious to make a meal for
me?"
"O King Lion," said the Goat, bowing before him very humbly, "here I
have been sitting these two hours, and wolves and jackals came to eat
me; but the sight of your footprints was safety for me: I told them I
was yours, and they took to their heels for fear. Now eat me if you
will; for yours I am."
Then the Lion said, "O Goat, if you have called yourself mine, never
will I devour you. I will see to it that you are well treated."
Then the Lion went out and found an Elephant, who greeted him with the
greatest respect. "Elephant," said the Lion, "I want you to do something
for me."
"Speak on," said the Elephant, "do it I will."
The Lion said, "There is a poor lame Goat has thrown himself on my
mercy, and I have thought of a plan by which he can be fed. If you will
suffer him to mount on your back, then while you go grazing about, he
can browse upon the young shoots of the trees as you pass under."
"That is a good idea," said the Elephant, "and I'll do it for you
willingly, and indeed anything else in my power."
If the Lion was pleased at the kindness of the
Elephant, more pleased was the lame Goat; and a
happy life was his from that day. Never again was he
beaten by a cruel goatherd: but he fed on the fat
of the land, and lived to a green old age; and
I hope we may be half as happy as he was.