Story of the Lion and the Bull

One day, some cows were grazing on a green pasture. The pasture was very near to a thick jungle. One of the cows got separated from the herd and strayed into the forest. She could not find her way back and, therefore, she stayed in the jungle. At night, she heard the roar of a lioness. She was frightened. The lioness saw her. However, she did not try to harm her. In fact, she had already eaten her dinner-Lions do not hunt until they are hungry.

The lioness walked up to the cow and befriended her. When the cow saw that the lioness was harmless, she accepted her friendship. Soon, they became very close friends. All the other animals of the forest wondered at their friendship.

Months passed. The cow gave birth to a calf and the lioness gave birth to a cub. The calf and the cub grew up together and became close friends. They were always seen together. There was great love between the two. Some animals of the forests envied their friendship.

One day, a man came to the forest to collect some herbs. He happened to see the lion and the bull together. He was so surprised that he went to the king and told him that he had seen a lion and a bull together. The king was very wise. He said, “It must be God’s will to make friendship between the bull and the lion.” The king then told the man to keep a watch over the two. “Someone may try to break their friendship,” he said.

The king turned out to be right. A jackal wanted to break their friendship, so that he could taste the bull’s flesh.

He went to the lion and said, “Your majesty, the bull is plotting against you. He wants to kill you and become the ruler of the forest. You should not trust him any longer.” The lion was furious to hear this.

Next, he went to the bull and said, “Dear bull, do not have faith on your friend lion. He is trying to kill you. He wants to taste your flesh. Be careful of him.” The bull also grew angry.

When the lion and the bull came face to face, they charged at each other. There was a fierce fight between the two. At the end, both, the lion as well as the bull died. The jackal fed on their flesh.

The king’s man watched all this. He went and told the king all that had happened. The king was sad that such a rare friendship had come to an end. A cunning jackal led the two friends to their doom.