The Lion and the Archer

An archer was out hunting, and as soon as the animals saw him, they all ran away.
Only the lion challenged the archer to a fight.
The archer let loose an arrow and wounded the lion. "Receive my messenger," he said, "and see how powerful he is. Next, I'm going to attack you myself!"
The wounded lion ran away as quickly as he could.
"Hey," said the fox, "what are you doing? You're a lion! Stand and fight!"
"No way!" said the lion. "Having met his messenger, I know I dare not fight that hunter, no matter what you say."

---

Inspired by: Mille Fabulae et Una, a collection of Latin fables that I've edited, free to read online. I am not translating the Latin here; instead, I am just telling a 100-word version of the fable.
Notes: This is fable 11 in the book, which is Perry 340. There are also versions of this story about a tiger instead of a lion.

(Harrison Weir illustration)