3. The Lion-King and the Jackal

Laura Gibbs · 3. The Lion-King and the Jackal

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The lion-king had grown old. "Fetch me something easy to kill!" he said to the jackal, his minister.
The jackal found a she-donkey in a dusty stable.
"I'll take you to a pasture of fresh green grass!" he said.
The donkey followed the jackal eagerly straight to the lion, but he was too weak; when the lion lunged for her, she escaped.
"Come back!" said the jackal. "The lion loves you! He wants to make you his queen."
"Me? Queen?"
The foolish donkey followed the jackal again. This time, the lion killed her. "Delicious!" he exclaimed, and the jackal agreed.

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Inspired by: The Panchatantra, translated by Arthur Ryder.
Notes: It is in Book 4, Story 3. There's a final section in the original story where the lion goes to bathe before eating and the jackal eats the donkey's heart. When the lion comes back, he is angry that the heart is missing but the jackal explains that the donkey clearly had not heart (i.e. "brains") to begin with since she was foolish enough to come back a second time. Also, in the original story, the jackal tries to persuade the donkey that the lion was a she-donkey, but I switched it to the lion wanting to make the donkey his queen.