The Lion and the Mouse
A free A2-level English story for language learners, readable online in 7 languages, with an option to listen via the free Storyteller app.
A mouse begs a sleeping lion to spare her life and promises to repay his mercy one day — then gets an unexpected chance to prove it.
A Lion was asleep in the forest, his great head resting on his paws.
Un león dormía en el bosque, con su enorme cabeza apoyada en las patas.
A timid little Mouse came upon him unexpectedly, and in her fright and haste to get away, ran across the Lion's nose. Roused from his nap, the Lion laid his huge paw angrily on the tiny creature to kill her.
Una tímida ratoncita se topó con él sin querer y, presa del miedo y con las prisas por escapar, corrió sobre la nariz del león. Despertado de su siesta, el león puso su enorme pata sobre la pequeña criatura, furioso, para matarla.
"Spare me!" begged the poor Mouse. "Please let me go, and some day I will surely repay you."
«¡Perdóname!», suplicó la pobre ratona. «Por favor, déjame ir, y algún día te lo pagaré, seguro».
The Lion was much amused to think that a Mouse could ever help him. But he was generous, and finally he let the Mouse go.
Al león le hizo mucha gracia pensar que una ratona pudiera ayudarlo alguna vez. Pero era generoso, y al final dejó ir a la ratona.
Some days later, while stalking his prey in the forest, the Lion was caught in the net of a hunter. Unable to free himself, he filled the forest with his angry roaring.
Unos días después, mientras acechaba a su presa en el bosque, el león quedó atrapado en la red de un cazador. Incapaz de liberarse, llenó el bosque con sus rugidos de furia.
The Mouse knew the voice, and quickly she found the Lion struggling in the net. Running to one of the great ropes that bound him, she gnawed it until it parted, and soon the Lion was free.
La ratona reconoció la voz, y enseguida encontró al león luchando en la red. Corriendo hacia una de las gruesas cuerdas que lo ataban, la royó hasta que se rompió, y pronto el león quedó libre.
"You laughed when I said I would repay you," said the Mouse. "Now you see that even a little Mouse can help a great Lion."
«Te reíste cuando dije que te lo pagaría», dijo la ratona. «Ahora ves que hasta una pequeña ratona puede ayudar a un gran león».
A kindness is never wasted.
Una buena acción nunca se desperdicia.
