“Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.”
(Luke 6:36)
Once upon a time, in a dense forest, lived a mighty lion. King of the jungle. One day, after a large meal, he was taking a nap under the shade of a large tree. While he was sleeping, a tiny mouse was scurrying about looking for food. Accidentally, the mouse ran across the lion’s nose, waking him up. In one swift movement, the lion trapped the little mouse under his huge paw.
“How dare you disturb my sleep!” roared the lion. “ I shall make a meal out of you to teach you a lesson!”
Trembling with fear, the mouse pleaded for his life. “Please, mighty lion, spare my life. If you let me go, I promise I will return your kindness someday.”
The lion laughed at the idea of a tiny mouse ever helping him, but he was in a good mood and decided to let the mouse go. “Run along, little one. You are free,” he said.
Time passed and one day, while prowling near the edge of the forest, the lion was caught in a hunter’s net. He struggled fiercely, but the harder he tried the tighter the net became.
Hearing the lion’s desperate roars, the mouse recognised the voice as that of the lion who had spared his life. He quickly ran to the source of the sound and saw the lion was trapped. Without wasting any time, the mouse began to gnaw at the ropes of the net with his sharp teeth. Slowly but surely the mouse made a hole big enough for the lion to escape. The lion, free at last, was amazed at the little mouse’s help. “Thank you, dear friend. You have saved my life, just as you promised,” said the lion, humbled by the mouse’s compassion. (Aesop’s Fables)
As the Spanish proverb says: “Today you. Tomorrow me.”
Chris Dawson