Aesop's Fables

A Lion, greatly desiring to capture a Bull and yet afraid to attack him because of his great size, resorted to a trick to ensure his destruction. He approached the Bull and said, “I have slain a fine sheep, my friend, and if you will come home and share it with me, I will be delighted to have your company.” The Lion said this in the hope that, while the Bull was lying down to eat, he could attack him with the advantage on his side and make a meal of him. The Bull, on approaching the Lion’s den, saw the huge spits and giant caldrons and no sign whatever of the sheep, and, without saying a word, he quietly departed. The Lion asked why he was going off so abruptly without a word of greeting to his host, who had not given him any cause for offense. “I have reasons enough,” said the Bull. “I see no indication whatever of your having slaughtered a sheep, while I do see very plainly every preparation for your dining on a bull.”