# Androcles and the Lion

_Retold by Talerie (talerie.com) from The Fables of Aesop_ · 2 min read · ages 5+

A runaway slave, Androcles, pulls a thorn from a lion’s paw, and the lion brings him meat in his cave until both are captured and Androcles is to be thrown to the lion. In the arena the lion licks his hands instead, the emperor hears the story, and the slave is pardoned and set free as the lion goes back to his forest.

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There was once a slave named Androcles who ran away from his master. He fled into the forest and hid there among the trees, far from anyone who might find him.

One day, as he wandered through the forest, he heard a deep moaning and groaning. A lion lay on the ground in front of him. Androcles turned and ran. But the lion did not come after him, and before long Androcles stopped, turned around, and walked slowly back.

As he came near, the lion held out one of his front paws. It was swollen and bleeding, and when Androcles looked closely, he saw why: a huge thorn was stuck deep in it.

Androcles took hold of the thorn and pulled it out. Then he bound up the paw. Soon the lion was able to get to his feet, and he licked Androcles’s hand, just as a dog would.

After that the lion led Androcles to his cave. Every day the lion went out and brought back meat, so the runaway always had something to eat.

Not long afterward, though, Androcles and the lion were both captured. The slave was sentenced to be thrown to the lion in the arena. First, the lion was kept for several days without any food at all.

On the day of the spectacle, the emperor came with his whole court to watch. Androcles was led out into the middle of the arena and left there by himself.

Soon the lion was let out of his den. Bounding and roaring, he rushed straight at the man standing alone on the open ground.

But as soon as the lion came close to Androcles, the beast recognized his friend. He stopped roaring, crouched low, rubbed against him, and licked his hands like a friendly dog.

The emperor could hardly believe his eyes. He sent for Androcles, who told him the whole story: the forest, the thorn, the cave, and the meat the lion had brought him every day.

So the slave was pardoned and set free. The lion was set free too, and he went back to his own forest, where he had always lived.

**Moral:** Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.

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- Read online: https://talerie.com/en/tales/androcles-and-the-lion
- Author's country: Greece (https://talerie.com/en/tales/country/greece)
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q104763053
- Tale type: ATU 156, Perry 563 (per Wikidata)
- Source: The Fables of Aesop, selected, told anew by Joseph Jacobs (1894) (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/28)
- Public-domain basis: Talerie contemporary retelling (CC0 2026), based on: The Fables of Aesop, selected, told anew by Joseph Jacobs (1894) — translation: author died 564 BC (+70 passed); translator Joseph Jacobs died 1916 (+70 passed)
- License: CC0-1.0 (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)