The Clever Woodsman

The Clever Woodsman

Once upon a time, long, long ago, in the middle of a big forest, a Lion caught a Cat.

The Lion asked the Cat: "Hey, Cat, you are from my family, but why are you so small and scared?"

The Cat felt small and shy because of this question. Then, a clever idea came to its mind: "It was the Human who made me this way," the Cat said.

The Lion roared in surprise: "What does that mean? How can a human make you this way?"

The Cat answered: "The Human has all kinds of different tools. They used those tools to make me small like this."

Because of this, the Lion said: "Take me to the Human. I want to see them make me small, too!"

The Cat was very surprised by this request. It tried to make the Lion change its mind, but the Lion would not listen. The Lion was determined to challenge the Human and meet them.

So, the Cat and the Lion started a long walk in the forest. They walked for a long time and finally met a woodcutter (a woodsman).

The Cat pointed at the woodcutter and said: "There is the Human."

The Lion stepped in front of the woodcutter and roared: "Hey, Human! I heard that you can make my kind small!"

The woodcutter looked at the Lion and then at the Cat next to it. "Yes," the woodcutter said.

Then the Lion roared again: "Come on, make me small so I can see it!"

The woodcutter replied: "I can do it, but my tools are not with me."

The Lion asked: "Where are they?"

The woodcutter answered: "In the village."

The Lion roared loudly: "What! You are trying to trick me! You are scared and will go to the village and never come back, right?"

The woodcutter laughed and said: "No. My real fear is that I will go to the village to get my tools and come back, but I won't be able to find you here!"

The Lion got very angry and roared: "What?! You think that about me, the King of the forest?"

The woodcutter then said: "Let me tie you to a tree here. You stay tied here until I go and come back. This way, I will feel safe."

The Lion agreed to the woodcutter's idea.

The woodcutter tied the Lion tightly to a strong tree. Then he asked the Lion: "Try to break the ropes. Are the ropes strong enough?"

The Lion turned this way and that way; it tried hard but could not break the ropes.

The woodcutter laughed happily and said: "My tools are here after all!"

And with the stick he was holding, the woodcutter taught the Lion a good lesson and made it powerless.

After the woodcutter left, the Lion broke the ropes with its teeth. It slowly dragged itself to the Cat, who was hiding nearby.

The Lion said to the Cat: "You were right, my friend Cat. The Human made me small, too. With cleverness, you can move the world. Now I understand you."

They leaned on each other and slowly walked deep into the forest until they disappeared.