[Illustration: 0043]
|As a Lion lay asleep, a Mouse ran into his mouth. The Lion shut his
teeth together and would have eaten him up, but the Mouse begged hard to
be let out, saying:--
“If you will let me go, I will repay you some day.”
The Lion smiled, but let the Mouse out. Not long after, the Mouse had a
chance to repay him. The Lion was caught by some hunters, and bound with
ropes to a tree. The Mouse heard him roar and groan, and ran and gnawed
the ropes, so that the Lion got free.