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FRIENDSHIP
Androcles and the Lion
In Rome there lived a poor slave named Androcles. His master, a cruel man was so unkind to him that at last Androcles decided to run away. He hid himself in the woods for many days. However, he could not find food and he grew so weak and sick that he thought he would die. Therefore, one day he crept into a cave and lay down, and soon he was fast asleep. After a while a loud noise woke him up. A lion had come into the cave and was roaring loudly. Androcles was very scared for he felt sure that the beast would kill him. Soon, however, he saw that the lion was not angry but that he limped as though his foot hurt him.
the lion. The lion stood quite still and rubbed his head against the man's shoulder, and lay down. He seemed to say, "I know that you will help me." Androcles lifted the paw from the ground and saw that a long, sharp thorn was stuck in the paw, and that was hurting the lion so much. He took the end of the thorn in his fingers, gave a strong, quick jerk, and pulled the thorn out. The lion was full of joy and licked the hands and feet of his new friend.
After this, Androcles was not afraid of the lion. When night came he and the lion lay down and slept side by side. For a long time the lion brought food to Androcles every day. The two became such good friends that Androcles found his new life a very happy one. One day some soldiers, who were passing through the wood, found Androcles in the cave. They knew who he was and they took him back to Rome. It was the law at that time that any slave who ran away from his master would have to fight a hungry lion. Therefore, a fierce lion was caged for a week without food and a time was set for the fight. When the day came thousands of people crowded to see the fight.
The door opened and a scared Androcles was brought in. Hearing the lion's roars filled him with fear. He looked up and saw that there was no pity in the thousands of faces around him.
Androcles grew bold and took hold of the lion's lame paw to see what was bothering
102 Dal
THE FIRST STEP OF JAINISM
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