The Lion and the Mouse

Bernadette Watts' retelling of "The Lion and the Mouse" is an endearing variant of the original Aesop's Fable. The lion meets the mouse as a cub, and the reader is given a background to the King of the Jungle as he is growing up. The cub has a habit of being away from the rest of the pack, and has a regular, shady spot in the jungle in which he rests. One day, when the cub was taking his daily nap in the shade, the mouse scampers close to the cub, disturbing the cub from his slumber. The cub becomes angry, yet when he realizes that he was just awoken by a harmless, little mouse, he lets the mouse go. The mouse shows his gratitude by promising to repay the lion with kindness and that he will help the lion anytime he needs - which the cub show more thought was a ridiculous proposition as he was much stronger and bigger than the mouse.

As the years pass, the cub grows into the King of the Jungle and continues to sleep in his regular napping spot - and the mouse always makes sure to be out of the lion's way. One day, the lion is caught in a hunter's net and all of the animals were helpless to help him - except the mouse. The mouse chews a hole through the net and sets the lion free. The lion then shows his gratitude by promising to protect the mouse always, and the lion and the mouse become friends for life.

The enhancement to the original fable is very effective in engaging the reader. To have seen the lion as a cub and having the capacity to let the mouse go at that young ages evokes a sense of compassion in the reader when he is caught in the net years later. The modification in the plot adds value to the original moral of the story - not only can the small do great things for those greater and mightier than themselves, but a more encompassing message that small, kind deeds invested toward your fellow being can result in a rewarding friendship that lasts a lifetime. The storyline remains simple despite the variant, and stays true to the oral tradition with an animated narrative and dialogue. The illustrations use soft lines, vibrant colors, and rich detail creating an attractive setting to complement the story and its characters.

Perfect book for ages 5-9, discussion about friendship can be generated at all levels - from something as simple as, "what do friends do for each other," to a more abstract question as, "what does friendship or a great relationship mean?" show less

This book is about a young lion cub who takes a nap on a hot day after playing to cool down and rest. While the lion cub is napping, a mouse crosses his paw and wakes him up. The mouse quickly apologizes to the lion cub, in fear. The lion cub tells the mouse that he won't hurt him so the mouse thanks the lion cub and tells him that he will repay his kindness one day, so if the lion cub ever needs help, the mouse will help however possible. The lion cub laughed because the lion is much bigger than the mouse. Why would a strong and big lion need help from a small mouse? Years later, the lion cub grew into the biggest and strongest lion making him the king. One day when the lion went to his normal resting spot, he fell into a trap. None of show more the animals could help him. The next morning the mouse appeared and offered to fulfill the promise he made to the lion years ago by helping him out of the trap. The lion doubted the mouse. If nobody else could help him, the mouse surely couldn't either. Then the mouse started to nibble at the net eventually chewing a hole into the net to free the lion. The lion thanked the mouse and vowed to never doubt someone based on size and strength and promised to always protect the mouse.

I remember a different version of this story from when I was a child. From time to time, I'll recall this book and the message that stuck with me since I was young. It's definitely a must-read for students because it provides such a heartfelt message at the end. show less

When a mouse accidentally runs across a sleeping lions paw, the lion wakes with a roar but sets the harmless mouse free. Out of gratitude, the mouse promises to always be there to help if the lion needs anything. The lion laughs believing he could never need help from a mouse, until one day he does. I love the message this book offers to readers. We should never laugh or belittle someone "smaller" or "weaker" than ourselves.

I rated this book a four because The Lion and the Mouse is a classic Aesop tale that teaches children about friendship and to not judge someone. Children can learn from this book that just because you are small you can do mighty things. Also, not to undermine the smaller, younger ones because you may just need them one day. This book is a classic lesson that children need to hear and would enjoy reading. It could be used to teach a lesson to school aged children.

The Lion and the Mouse
Bryan O’Keeffe

I remembered reading this book as a child and I remember the book a little bit differently. In this version of the book the Mouse helps the Lion escape from a hunter’s net. I remember the Mouse helping take out a splinter in the Lion’s paw. Regardless of the differences in the stories, I did enjoy reading this book. The writing of this book was very easy but done really well. The flow of the book was nice and went along with the pace too, I was able to breeze through this book very quickly but was still able to understand the story.
My one complaint about this book would be the illustrations. They do go with the story itself but the drawings are done very poorly and I feel do not go well with show more the written text. In my opinion slightly more complicated illustrations could have enhanced the story just a little bit more. The illustrations seem like a first grader made them and just take away from the story a little bit. I did like how the story was in the third person view as told by a narrator. For a children’s story the third person view always seems to be the best.
The story was eventful but I feel even when the plot had suspense and conflict, they were not stressed on enough to make the reader feel as if the Lion was struggling with conflict. Which also had to do with the fact that the characters were not made believable and were not well developed at all. You were thrown into the story without any background information or much character development. The one thing that was apparent at the end of the story was its message; “You never know when you will need the help of someone like me.” show less

This is a classic Aesop tale with a moral that children and adults alike should take to heart. The illustrations are also delightful. I have added this to my own personal library and would tell this story to all ages.

The Lion and the Mouse is a short fable retold from Aesop's fables. It is about a lion, king of the jungle sparing the life of a mouse, tiny of the jungle. In return the mouse promises to help the lion if he is ever in trouble. Though the lion thinks that a mouse could never save him, he gets caught years later, and afterward the mouse frees him they become great friends.

I did not like this adaptation of Aesop's fables, but I did like the illustrations. The illustrations show the lion as adorable and playful. The moral of the story is still very clear, not to make fun of those weaker or smaller.

To help teach a sense of humility I would read this story and talk about why did the lion think he would never need help? I would also teach show more appreciation, that the mouse showed. It would be fun to make a lion of mouse which ever one they want to be more like. Instead of forcing them to be humble, give them a choice, plus at least the lion did come around. show less