~ 14. The Lion and the Donkey Go Hunting ~



A lion and a donkey agreed to go hunting in partnership together.
One day they happened upon a pack of wolves. The donkey brayed loudly and raced at the wolves as if he were going to swallow them whole.
"Hee-haw!" he shouted. "Hee-haw!"
The wolves laughed, but when they glimpsed the lion running up behind the donkey, they turned tail and ran away.
"Behold!" said the donkey. "The tremendous sound of my voice has made the wolves run away!"
"I suspect it was the sight of me that did it," replied the lion, "rather than the sound of your voice.

Inspired by: Fables of Aesop and Other Eminent Mythologists by Roger L'Estrange, 396.
Notes: This is Perry 151. In other versions of the story, the donkey sets all kinds of animals to flight with the sound of his voice, not just wolves.

Here is an illustration by Billinghurst:




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