100个儿童英语小故事: The Lion and the Mouse Who Returned a Favor

（单词翻译）

081 The Lion and the Mouse Who Returned a Favor

A cute baby mouse went on a picnic in the woods. At the same time, a lion was taking a nap in the warm sunlight. The baby mouse was alarmed to see the large lion taking a nap. 'Wow! Mr. Lion is bigger than I've heard!'

While gazing at the lion, the baby mouse happened to step on the lion's paw. Instantly, the lion opened his eyes and glared at the mouse. "What fool stepped on my foot?" Scared to death, the baby mouse shivered.

"Mr. Lion, please forgive me." begged the baby mouse. However, the lion was very displeased¹ that the little mouse stepped on his foot. "I'm sorry. Please, forgive me. If you spare my life, I will return a favor," said the mouse. "Huh! How can such a little creature like you return my favor?" snorted the lion.

The baby mouse mustered² all his courage and said once again, "Mr. Lion, you will be in trouble someday and who knows who can help you?"

The lion was impressed by the little mouse's courage and said, "Well, well, well! Since I appreciate your courage, I'll forgive you. I will let you go." "Thank you, Mr. Lion!" The baby mouse hurriedly ran a way.

One day, the lion was proudly rambling³ around the forest and got trapped in a hunter's net. "I can't believe this! I got caught in a trap that humans set!'" The lion was very scared because he thought the hunters would come any minute.

The lion regretted that he came out to search for food. 'I should have stayed home.' The lion recklessly cried out, "Help! Help me!"

However, other animals could not help the lion because they were afraid that the hunters would come at any moment. Then, the little mouse who was living outside the forest came running after hearing the lion cry.

"Mr. Lion, what happened?" "As you can see, I got caught in a trap that the hunters set. But, no one can help me," cried the lion. "Mr. Lion, can I help you?"

"How can such a small creature like you help me?" The baby mouse began nibbling⁴ and nibbling. He did his best. Slowly, a few strings⁵ of the net broke off.

Finally, the lion was able to get out of the net. "Thank you, Little Mouse. How can I repay you?" "You forgave me last time," replied the mouse. The big lion thanked the little baby mouse with all his heart.