The Lion, for all his size and strength, and his sharp teeth and claws, is a coward in one thing: he can't bear the sound of a cock crowing, and runs away whenever he hears it. He complained bitterly to Jupiter for making him like that; but Jupiter said it wasn't his fault: he had done the best he could for him, and, considering this was his only failing, he ought to be well content. The Lion, however, wouldn't be comforted, and was so ashamed of his timidity that he wished he might die. In this state of mind, he met the Elephant and had a talk with him. He noticed that the great beast cocked up his ears all the time, as if he were listening for something, and he asked him why he did so. Just then a gnat came humming by, and the Elephant said, “Do you see that wretched little buzzing insect? I'm terribly afraid of its getting into my ear: if it once gets in, I'm dead and done for.” The Lion's spirits rose at once when he heard this: “For,” he said to himself, “if the Elephant, huge as he is, is afraid of a gnat, I needn't be so much ashamed of being afraid of a cock, who is ten thousand times bigger than a gnat.”
狮子尽管体型壮硕，力量惊人，牙尖爪利，但在一件事情上却是个胆小鬼：他不敢听公鸡打鸣，只要一听到鸡鸣，他就会立刻逃跑。他痛苦地向朱庇特抱怨，为什么将他造成了这个样子，但朱庇特说这并不是自己的错误，他已经为了狮子做了所有能做的，而且这是狮子唯一的缺点，对此他也应该满足了。但是狮子的情绪并没有缓和，依然以自己这一方面的胆怯为耻，甚至想要去死。他这么想着，碰到了大象，便和大象聊了聊天。他注意到这头巨兽一直都支着耳朵，好像在听什么东西一样，于是便问大象为什么要这么做。就在这时，一只小蠓虫嗡嗡着飞了过来，大象说：“你看到那讨厌的嗡嗡叫的小虫子了吗？我特别害怕它进入我的耳朵，如果进去了，我就死定了。”一听到这事，狮子的情绪立刻好了起来。他对自己说：“大象尽管那么大，却害怕小蠓虫，我也不需要因为害怕公鸡而羞耻，公鸡可比蠓虫大一万倍呢。”