9. THE SLAVE AND THE LION
Storytelling is as old as man. It has been one of the greatest sources of preaching moral values because every story is written with some moral purpose. All the prophets, the saints, religious scholars and teachers have been adopting it as a source of preaching any kind of morality. If one follows the lesson preached in the story, one can avoid many perils and problems. The story “The Slave and the Lion” also gives us a sublime moral lesson.
Once, a king was very cruel to his slave. The slave could not bear this inhumane treatment. One day, he ran and got refuge in a jungle. Suddenly, he heard the painful cries of a lion near him. He was filled with fear. He was about to run when suddenly, he noticed that the lion had a thorn in its paw. He took pity on the lion. He encouraged himself, went near the lion and took out the thorn. The lion bowed before him and went away.
After some days, the slave was caught. The king threw him into an arena before a lion. The lion bowed before him and began to lick his hand. In fact, it was the same lion whom he had helped in the jungle. The king was greatly impressed by it. He ordered the slave to be pardoned and freed. It is true to say: “Do good, have good.”
Moral:
1. Do good, have good.
2. Kindness never goes unrewarded.
IMPORTANT POINTS TO BE KEPT IN MIND:
- Never use the moral lesson as the title of the story. The title must be pure title. It should be “The Slave and the Lion”, “A Slave and a Lion”, “A Lion and a Slave”, or “A Lion and a Slave.” Whatever the title you have read, follow that specific title.
- Most of the moral stories have more than one moral lesson. Sometimes, the students try to write more than one moral lesson. In doing so, they make mistakes. I would advise them to write the specific moral lesson in which they have been asked to write a story.