Androcles and the Lion
Classical Stories · No. 42 — A thorn pulled from a paw, repaid in the arena.
- Classical Stories
- 40 min
- Ages 8–13
- 7 chapters
About this audiobook
Androcles, a runaway slave, takes shelter in a cave in the wilderness — which turns out to be a lion's den. But the lion comes home limping, whimpering, and holds up a paw swollen around a great thorn. Instead of fleeing, Androcles gently draws the thorn out, and for a time the two live in the cave as unlikely companions. Later Androcles is captured and condemned to be thrown to a wild lion in the arena for the crowd's entertainment. The lion is loosed, races across the sand toward him — and stops, and nuzzles him, for it is the very lion he once healed. Even the emperor, astonished, sets them both free.
Why it's worth a listen
An escaped slave hiding in a cave meets a limping lion and, instead of running, pulls a thorn from its swollen paw. Months later, condemned to face a starving lion before a roaring crowd, he looks up at the beast bounding toward him — and recognizes an old friend. One of the oldest and warmest 'kindness returns' stories in the world.
A question to keep
Does a kindness ever really disappear — or does it wait to come back around?
Chapters
- The Flight and the Sanctuary
- The Guest with the Great Paw
- Life in the Shadows
- The Shadow of the Arena
- The Meeting on the Golden Sand
- The Emperor’s Question
- A Question to Keep