The Lion said to the Wild Dog that he did not fear any one in the
forest except these four, viz., tree-leaves, grass, flies, and earth,
and when the Wild Dog said, "There is certainly one stronger than
thou," the Lion replied to the Wild Dog, "I kill the young ones of the
elephant, the wild cow, and the leopard, and bring them to my children
to be eaten. If I give one roar, all the beasts of the forest tremble,
every one of them, on hearing me roar; none is greater than I within
this forest."
The Wild Dog said to the Lion, "As thou sayest that thou fearest not
any one in this forest, so let us go and show me thy house; and I will
come and call thee, in order to show thee a place where a black bird
comes to eat, as soon as I shall see him again."
The Lion took the Wild Dog with him and showed him his house; and then
the Wild Dog went home.
The next day, when a hunter was come to the forest the Wild Dog, on
seeing him, went to the Lion's house, and said to the Lion:
"Brother Lion, come, and follow me, and I will show thee something
which I have seen."
The Lion arose and followed the Wild Dog, and when they were come to
where the hunter was, the hunter prepared himself: he had put on his
forest garment, had sewn the bill of a long bird to his cap, and put it
on his head, and he walked as a bird. The Wild Dog, seeing him, said
to the Lion:
"Brother Lion, yonder is that black bird. Go and catch him, and when
thou hast caught him, please give me one of his legs, for I want it for
a charm."
The Lion attended to what the Wild Dog said, and went softly to where
the bird was; but the Wild Dog ran back.
The Lion went, thinking, "I will kill the bird," but he did not know
that on seeing him the hunter had prepared himself, and taken out his
arrow; so, as he thought, "I will go and seize the bird," and was come
close to the hunter, the hunter shot an arrow at the Lion and hit him.
Then the Lion fell back, and having got up and fallen down three times,
the arrow took effect and he felt giddy. In the same moment the hunter
had disappeared[1] so that he saw him no more. Then the Lion recovered
his courage and went very gently home.
On his arrival at home the Wild Dog said to him:
"Brother Lion, as thou saidst to me that thou art not afraid of any one
in the world except our Lord, tree-leaves, grass, flies, and dirt, why
didst thou not catch that black bird which I showed thee, and bring it
to thy children?"