The Lion and the Mouse

Once when a lion, the king of the jungle, was asleep, a little mouse began running up and down on him. This soon awakened the lion, who placed his huge paw on the mouse, and opened his big jaws to swallow him.
"Pardon, O King!" cried the little mouse. "Forgive me this time. I shall never repeat it and I shall never forget your kindness. And who knows, I may be able to do you a good turn one of these days!”

The lion was so tickled by the idea of the mouse being able to help him that he lifted his paw and let him go.
Sometime later, a few hunters captured the lion, and tied him to a tree. After that they went in search of a wagon, to take him to the zoo.

Just then the little mouse happened to pass by. On seeing the lion’s plight, he ran up to him and gnawed away the ropes that bound him, the king of the jungle.
"Was I not right?" said the little mouse, very happy to help the lion.

terjemahan

Singa dan Tikus

Suatu ketika seekor singa, sang raja hutan, sedang tidur, seekor tikus kecil berlari melewati tubuhnya. Hal ini membangunkan sang singa, yang kemudian menangkap sang tikus dengan kaki depannya yang besar, dan membuka mulutnya untuk menelan sang tikus.

"Maafkan daku, wahai Raja!" cicit sang tikus. "Maafkan lah daku kali ini. Daku tidak akan pernah mengulanginya dan daku tidak akan melupakan kebaikan paduka. Dan siapa sangka, daku bisa membalas kebaikan paduka suatu hari nanti"

Sang singa geli mendengar gagasan bahwa si tikus mampu menolongnya tapi dia kemudian melepaskan cengkramannya terhadap si tikus.

Tak lama kemudian, beberapa pemburu menangkap sang singa dan mengikatnya pada sebuah pohon. Setelah itu mereka pergi untuk mencari kendaraan agar bisa membawanya ke kebun binatang.

Kebetulan saja si tikus lewat. Melihat bahwa sang singa dalam keadaan buruk, si tikus berlari mendatanginya dan menggerogoti tali yang mengikat singa, sang raja hutan.
"Benarkan apa yang daku janjikan?" kata si tikus kecil, senang menolong sang singa.