The Slave and the Lion by Aesop for advanced ESL students with a podcast and vocabulary practice in real context
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The Slave and the Lion
A slave ran away from his master, by whom he had been most cruelly treated, and, in order to avoid capture, betook himself into the desert.
- capture: imprisonment, arrest
- betook: went somewhere else
As he wandered about in search of food and shelter, he came to a cave, which he entered and found to be unoccupied. Really, however, it was a lion’s den, and almost immediately, to the horror of the wretched fugitive, the lion himself appeared.
- unoccupied: vacant, empty
The man gave himself up for lost: but, to his utter astonishment, the lion, instead of springing upon him and devouring him, came and fawned upon him, at the same time whining and lifting up his paw.
- utter: thorough, complete, absolute
- astonishment: surprise, amazement, wonder
- whine: to moan, wail
Observing it to be much swollen and inflamed, he examined it and found a large thorn embedded in the ball of the foot. He accordingly removed it and dressed the wound as well as he could: and in course of time, it healed up completely. The lion’s gratitude was unbounded; he looked upon the man as his friend, and they shared the cave for some time together.
- gratitude: gratefulness, thankfulness
- unbounded: limitless, abundant
A day came, however, when the slave began to long for the society of his fellow-men, and he bade farewell to the lion and returned to the town. Here he was presently recognized and carried off in chains to his former master, who resolved to make an example of him, and ordered that he should be thrown to the beasts at the next public spectacle in the theatre.
- presently: shortly, very soon
- former: previous
- resolved: decided
- spectacle: show, event
On the fatal day, the beasts were loosed into the arena, and among the rest, a lion of huge bulk and ferocious aspect; and then the wretched slave was cast in among them. What was the amazement of the spectators, when the lion after one glance bounded up to him and lay down at his feet with every expression of affection and delight!
- ferocious: fierce
- spectator: viewer
- bounded up to him: got very close to him
It was his old friend of the cave! The audience clamored that the slave’s life should be spared: and the governor of the town, marveling at such gratitude and fidelity in a beast, decreed that both should receive their liberty.
- clamor: shout and demand
- decree: to command, order, declare
- liberty: freedom
This short story shows us pyre kindness. My mind was really interested in this short story. And I was wondering at first that why why the lion instead of springing upon him and devouring him, fawned upon him.
The reason for the lion’s weird behavior was the thorn which had penetrated into his paw.
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1. pyre kindness = pure kindness
This short fable depicts the power of kindness, gratitude and friendship.
The other theme can be “what goes around comes around.” The slave man showed kindness toward the lion and then got his payback of his nice act when they faced again in the arena.
Excellent and well-written comment! As you correctly mentioned, the story of the slave and the lion is basically about karma and the reverberation of our deeds and actions projected onto the future.