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Barlow 23. DE LEONE ET MURE

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Leo, aestu cursuque defessus, in umbra quiescebat. Murium autem grege tergum eius percurrente, expergefactus unum e multis comprehendit. Supplicat misellus, clamitans indignum se esse cui irascatur. Leo, reputans nihil laudis esse in nece tantillae bestiolae, captivum dimittit. Non multo post, Leo, dum per segetes currit, incidit in plagas; rugire licet, exire non licet. Rugientem Leonem Mus audit, vocem agnoscit, repit in cuniculos, et quaesitos laqueorum nodos invenit corroditque. Quo facto, Leo e plagis evadit.

Translation: A lion, tired out by the heat and the chase, was resting in the shade. A herd of mice, however, ran over the lion's back. He work up and grabbed one mouse out of the many who were there. The poor little mouse pleaded with the lion, squeaking that he was not worthy of the lion getting angry at him. The lion, realizing that there would be nothing praiseworthy in killing such a teeny-tiny beast, let the prisoner go free. Not long afterwards, the lion was running through the fields when he fell into a trap. The lion could roar but he could not get out. The mouse heard the roaring lion and recognized the voice; he crept inside the pitfall, searched until he found the knots of the snare, and chewed through the knots. When the mouse did this, the lion was able to escape from the trap.

[This translation is meant as a help in understanding the story, not as a "crib" for the Latin. I have not hesitated to change the syntax to make it flow more smoothly in English, altering the verb tense consistently to narrative past tense, etc.]

Illustration: Here is an illustration from this edition, by the renowned artist Francis Barlow; click on the image for a larger view.