a fable
One day a mighty lioness fell into a hunter’s net and was ensnared. She lay within the coils of her demise and bemoaned her fate. Then she saw a mouse. “Hey friend. Care to help a lady in need?”
‘Why should I help my enemy?” replied the mouse.
Good answer, thought the lioness. “Tell you what, you help me, I owe you a favour, what do you say, deal?”
The mouse thought, and it struck her that a deal with a lioness may not be such a bad thing. As long as she was far away when the lioness broke free. “Here’s my deal. I chew through the ropes so you can break them, and while you break them, I run away. And you owe me a favour, deal?”
The lioness was in no position to bargain. “Fine, deal.”
Then the mouse set to chewing through strategic ropes binding the lioness. Only a mouse could see the points at which the intricate net would fail. Quickly the mouse chewed and scurried as the mighty lion pushed against her bonds. “Good, good, keep pushing!” said the mouse. “Now wait!” and she crept over the lioness’ mighty muscled body and chewed through one, two, three last ropes. “Now wait!” cried out the mouse and she leapt off the lioness and ran for her life. As she ran, she yelled, “PUSH!”
The Lioness flexed with all her strength and burst the net that had captured her.
”Thank you little mouse!” the lioness roared.
“Remember your promise,” it heard a small voice say.
The mouse was named Prudently Patient, but all her friends called her Pru. Many days passed, and Pru forgot about her encounter with the Lion.
There’s a lot of work to being a mouse and most of it is finding food and eating it, and avoiding all those creatures who want to eat a nice fat little mouse. Which is why mice are nervous.
Pru tried not to be one of those nervous mice. She always maintained if one was sensible, followed their nose and don’t stick it out too far, you couldn’t go wrong.
If only that was true for Pru in real life! When she spoke with other mice, Pru let it be known that she was on top of her game, her quick eye and nose meant no problemos, other mice might want to do what she’s doing.
But in real life, Pru was always scared. With good reason. The local fox had taken an interest in her. Because Pru got away from that vixen once. Fox didn’t like that. Not one bit.
As Fox prowled for Pru, she would lie shivering in her hiding place. Fox cooed, “Poor mouse. Clever Fox is going to find you. I’m going to eat your feet and ears first. You can’t escape my keen nose, my bright eyes, my sensitive ears. If I don’t smell or see you, I’ll hear you. Nothing can save you from being my dinner.”
Pru was too scared to think. Instead of staying hidden she dashed out, determined to make a run for it. As she ran, Fox leapt from above, from the rock Fox had been sitting on, directly above Mouse’s hiding place.
“Now, I have you,” gloated Fox.
Then an enormous shadow fell on both of them. Fox barked, “Not me!” and tried to run away. Pru ran in the opposite direction. A mighty paw pinned down the fox and another stopped the mouse.
The lioness looked at them both, “What have we here? I call it lunch and a snack.”
“We be one blood, you and I,” said Fox.
“Cut that Rudyard Kipling shit,” growled the lioness. Then the lioness looked more closely at Pru and sniffed her. “Say, do I know you?” she said.
“Don’t you remember?” said Pru, “I helped you escape the net. Remember? You owe me a favour!”
“I remember you now!” said the lioness. “What’s the favour?”
“Let me go!” said Pru.
“Hmm,” said the lioness. “I do remember making a promise. But hunger trumps honour. Tell you what. Any last requests?”
“YES!” shouted Pru. “Give me one wish.”
“As long as the wish doesn’t mean I don’t eat you both,” said the lioness.
“I wish what you do to me, you do double to the fox. Now, eat one of my ears, one of my eyes, two of my feet, and half of my tail,” said Pru.
The lioness laughed. “I take it this fox bothers you. Fine, I promise and I honour that promise,” and the lioness bit the head of the fox off. “Mmm, fox brains taste so clever,” said the lioness.
She raised her paw, smiled and said, “You’re a brave little thing and barely a mouthful. Beat it before I change my mind.”
Prudently Patient skedaddled.
The moral is: power is capricious and will often reward you if amused.