The Lion and the Donkey Go Hunting

It was the lion’s birthday, and the king of the animals decided to celebrate in royal style, with a great hunt. He did not want to waste his time chasing little sparrows. A lion goes after bigger game: wild boar from the woods, and fat deer and stags with tall antlers.

To make sure the hunt went well, the king chose a helper. He picked a donkey, because the donkey had the loudest voice in the whole forest. The donkey felt very proud to be chosen.

The lion led him to a good hiding place among the trees and gave him his orders. “When I tell you,” said the lion, “bray as loudly as you can.”

The lion knew that such a dreadful noise would frighten even the boldest animals out of their dens. Then he went and crouched in a quiet spot along the path, ready to spring.

The donkey took a huge breath and let out his bray. “HEE-HAW! HEE-HAW!”

What a terrible racket it was! Every creature in the wood was filled with fear. The boars and the deer leapt up from their resting places and ran wildly away from the noise. And as they ran, every one of them rushed straight into the lion’s trap.

When the hunt was over, the donkey trotted up, puffed out with pride. “Wasn’t I wonderful?” he cried. “Didn’t my splendid work win the day for both of us?”

“Oh yes,” said the lion. “You brayed very bravely. In fact, if I didn’t know that you were only a donkey, I would have been frightened myself!”

The donkey would have loved to lose his temper at this, if he had dared. The lion’s joke left the donkey angry but afraid to answer.

About this telling

This fable was written in French verse by Jean de La Fontaine. It is retold here from the English translation by Elizur Wright, Jr., as printed in The Talking Beasts: A Book of Fable Wisdom, edited by Kate Douglas Wiggin and Nora Archibald Smith (Project Gutenberg #13815). In the introduction to that book, the editors note that La Fontaine took many subjects from Aesop and, in his later volumes, from Eastern sources too.

The story is sometimes listed as a Panchatantra tale, but this telling of it comes from La Fontaine. In the original the lion’s joke comes at the very end, in rhyme.

Read the original: La Fontaine, ‘The Lion and the Ass Hunting’, tr. Elizur Wright Jr., in The Talking Beasts (Project Gutenberg #13815)

Best for ages 6–8 — a short, funny fable about boasting, cooperation and the unequal power to claim credit.

A closer reading

The lion chooses the donkey precisely because his voice is useful. The hunt’s success depends on that noise as well as the lion’s ambush. Calling the donkey’s contribution ‘only’ braying misses the division of work established at the start.

The lion’s answer simultaneously admits that the sound is frightening and belittles its maker. The donkey may boast, but he also has a reason to expect recognition. His inability to reply shows their unequal power. Readers can enjoy the verbal sting while asking whether the lion distributes credit fairly.

Try this with the story

Describe the hunt without either character’s self-praise. Give each a sentence naming the action he performs. Then write a fair acknowledgment the lion could make while still objecting to boasting.

Talk about it

• Why would the lion choose a helper whose contribution did not matter?
• Which part of the hunt does each animal perform?
• How does the donkey’s fear affect the final exchange?

More stories like this

• The Lion And The Wolf — another fable about a lion and a smaller animal
• Lion’s Share — another tale about a lion on the hunt