The Lion and the Goat — An Indian Story for Children

It happened one spring day, when a herd of goats went out to the field to graze; and on the way home in the evening, an old goat lagged behind the procession of her companions. Fatigue and infirmity had worn out her strength, and she lost her way, so she took shelter in a nearby cave. Scarcely had she set foot on its floor when she caught sight of a lion crouching in one of its corners. She was terrified at the sight of him, and stood thinking of a ruse that would deliver her from this certain death. An idea soon occurred to her, and she said to herself: "If I try to run away, the lion will chase me and tear me to pieces; so I must put on a show of courage — it may yet bring me to safety..."

And so she walked toward the lion without betraying the terror that stirred in her breast and shook her whole being. The king of beasts looked at her and stared at her a long while, not knowing what to make of this brazen goat, who dared to behave as no female of her kind had ever done before her... But then he said to himself: This animal cannot possibly be a goat. It must be some strange creature I have never once seen in all my life... Then he came up to her and asked:

— Who are you?

— "I am the queen of the goats. I have vowed myself to the god Shiva, and when I bowed down before his throne I swore to him that I would devour, in his name, a hundred tigers, twenty elephants, and ten lions. I have by now devoured all of these, and only the lions remain!..."

The lion was struck by something like stupefaction when he heard these words, and he pondered how he might escape from this awkward predicament... But he pretended that he wished to wash his face at the river's edge; and hardly had he stepped past the mouth of the cave when he ran into a cunning jackal, who noticed the terror on the king's face and drew near to ask after him and what had befallen him. The lion briefly recounted what had happened to him with the goat. Now the little animal was clever, and he did not believe this game; he knew that the strange creature was nothing but an old goat who had succeeded in weaving her trick upon the king so as to save herself from his clutches... And so he persuaded the lion to return to the cave and devour the goat. The lion heeded the jackal's advice and went back with him to the cave. The goat saw them coming from afar and realized what had happened; but she gathered every last grain of her courage and pretended to stand firm... Then she stepped toward them and said, addressing the jackal: "Is this how you carry out my charge and obey my orders? I sent you to bring me ten lions, and you have come back to me with only a single lion... I shall flay your skin for this negligence!..." When the lion heard this speech, he thought the jackal had deceived him and dragged him to this place to lead him down the road to destruction... In his fury he pounced upon the thunderstruck animal and crushed him, then dashed off in flight through the forests. Meanwhile the goat was slipping cautiously out of the cave, on her lips the smile of triumph... and victory...