THE HUNTER AND THE FARMER


"Are you afraid of a lion? I am not. There is nothing that I
should like better than to meet one," said a man to his neighbor
whose calf the lion had killed. "To-morrow morning I will go out
and hunt for this fierce lion, which is doing so much harm. If he
is anywhere about, I shall find him and kill him, and thus rid the
village of fear."

The next morning the man started out alone to hunt the lion. He
had, a gun and a sword. He looked so brave as he started off that
the people in the village said, "What a blessing it is to have so
fearless a man in our village! He will keep us from harm."

He walked several miles. At last he came near a jungle. He thought
that the lion might have his home there. He asked a farmer whom he
met if he had seen the tracks of a lion.

"Yes," said the farmer, "and I will show you where you can find
him."

When the man heard this, he turned pale and trembled with fright.

"I do not care to see the lion," he cried. "I only wanted to see
his tracks."

The farmer turned away in disgust, saying, "It is easy to be brave
when you are out of danger."