A Lion asleep in his lair was waked up by a Mouse running over his face.

一只狮子在洞里睡觉时，一只老鼠从他脸上跑过，把它吵醒了。

Losing his temper he seized it with his paw and was about to kill it.

他发脾气了，用爪子抓住它，正想要杀了它。

The Mouse, terrified, piteously entreated him to spare its life.

老鼠吓坏了，可怜巴巴地恳求他饶了它一命。

"Please let me go," it cried, "and one day I will repay you for your kindness."

“请让我走吧，”它哭着说，“总有一天我会报答你的好意。”

The idea of so insignificant a creature ever being able to do anything for him amused the Lion so much that he laughed aloud, and good-humouredly let it go.

这样一个微不足道的小东西竟然说能为他做任何事情，这想法把狮子逗乐了，它大声地笑了起来，好脾气地把它放了。

But the Mouse's chance came, after all.

经过一段时间后，老鼠的机会终于来了。

One day the Lion got entangled in a net which had been spread for game by some hunters,

有一天，狮子被猎人布下的网缠住了，

and the Mouse heard and recognised his roars of anger and ran to the spot.

老鼠听到了他的怒吼，认出了他，就跑到那里去。

Without more ado it set to work to gnaw the ropes with its teeth, and succeeded before long in setting the Lion free.

它毫不费力地咬住绳子，不一会儿就把狮子放了出来。

"There!" said the Mouse,

“那儿!”老鼠说，

"you laughed at me when I promised I would repay you: but now you see, even a Mouse can help a Lion."

“我答应你，会报答你的时候，你还嘲笑我：可是现在你知道了，即使是一只老鼠也能帮助一只狮子呢。”