The Ass in the Lion’s Skin
Those who love Aesop’s Fables might know the story of the “The Ass in the Lion’s Skin“. It is catalogued as 188 in the Perry Index and it concerns an Ass that puts on a lion’s skin and makes fun of everyone by terrifying all the foolish animals. The donkey foolishly tries his luck on all the animals…..
Story:
Once upon a time, there was an Ass who lived the forest. The Ass was walking in the forest and he saw a yellow coat. It was the full skin of a Lion.
The Ass said, “Ah. What is this? This is the skin of a lion. A hunter must have forgotten about the skin.”
The Ass thought, “I can use this skin and pretend to be the Lion.”
The Ass wore the skin. He now looked like a great Lion.
The Ass thought, “Wow. I look so scary. I shall frighten all the animals. It will be so funny.”
The Ass hid in a large bush and waited. Mr. Rabbit came hopping. He was carrying three carrots.
HOP! HOP! HOP!
HOP! HOP! HOP!
When the rabbit crossed the bush, the Ass jumped out. The Rabbit ran away leaving his three carrots. The Ass laughed and ate the three carrots.
“Ha Ha! I am a smart animal.”
The Ass hid in a large bush and waited. Mrs. Deer came hopping. She was carrying a bag of cabbage and a bag of potatoes.
JUMP! JUMP! JUMP!
JUMP! JUMP! JUMP!
When the Deer crossed the bush, the Ass jumped out. The Deer ran away leaving the bags. The Ass laughed and ate the cabbage and the potatoes.
“Ha Ha! I am a smart animal.”
The Ass again hid in a large bush and waited. Mr. Fox came by sniffing.
SNIFF! SNIFF! SNIFF!
SNIFF! SNIFF! SNIFF!
When the Fox crossed the bush, the Ass jumped out. Mr. Fox was very hungry and did not see the Lion. The Donkey thought, “He did not see me. I should roar like a lion and he will run away”.
The donkey roared loudly, “BRAY! BRAY! BRAAAAAY!”
Mr. Fox saw the Ass braying and he started to laugh at the Ass.
“Ha Ha! You are such a stupid animal. If you did not bray like an Ass, I would have run away.”
Moral of the story:
The moral of the story “The ass in the lions skin” is “A fool may deceive by his dress and appearance, but his words will soon show what he really is.”
Other stories which you can read
| The Dog and the Hides |
| The Cock, The Dog and the Fox |
| The Farmer and the Snake |
| The Farmer and the Stork |
| The Cat and the Birds |
Questions on “The Ass in the Lion’s Skin“
- Who are the main characters of the story?
- How did the donkey scare the animals?
- What happened at the end of the story?
- What is the moral of the story?
Answers:
- The main characters of the story are a donkey and a fox.
- The donkey found a lions skin and wore it to scare all the animals.
- The donkey tried to scare the fox but the fox did not see the donkey. So he tried to roar and ended up braying. The fox had a laugh and berated the donkey!!
- The moral of the story “The ass in the lions skin” is “A fool may deceive by his dress and appearance, but his words will soon show what he really is.”
The Ass in the Lion’s Skin – PDF
Looking for the free downloadable PDF version ? If so, you’ve come to the right place. You can click on the link below to download the free story in PDF version format.
