A Lion lay sick in his den, unable to provide himself with food. So he said to his friend the Fox, who came to ask how he did, “My good friend, I wish you would go to yonder wood and beguile the big Stag, who lives there, to come to my den: I have a fancy to make my dinner off a stag's heart and brains.” The Fox went to the wood and found the Stag and said to him, “My dear sir, you're in luck. You know the Lion, our King: well, he's at the point of death, and has appointed you his successor to rule over the beasts. I hope you won't forget that I was the first to bring you the good news. And now I must be going back to him; and, if you take my advice, you'll come too and be with him at the last.” The Stag was highly flattered, and followed the Fox to the Lion's den, suspecting nothing. No sooner had he got inside than the Lion sprang upon him, but he misjudged his spring, and the Stag got away with only his ears torn, and returned as fast as he could to the shelter of the wood. The Fox was much mortified, and the Lion, too, was dreadfully disappointed, for he was getting very hungry in spite of his illness. So he begged the Fox to have another try at coaxing the Stag to his den. “It'll be almost impossible this time,” said the Fox, “but I'll try.” And off he went to the wood a second time, and found the Stag resting and trying to recover from his fright. As soon as he saw the Fox he cried, “You scoundrel, what do you mean by trying to lure me to my death like that? Take yourself off, or I'll do you to death with my horns.” But the Fox was entirely shameless. “What a coward you were,” said he; “surely you didn't think the Lion meant any harm? Why, he was only going to whisper some royal secrets into your ear when you went off like a scared rabbit. You have rather disgusted him, and I'm not sure he won't make the wolf King instead, unless you come back at once and show you've got some spirit. I promise you he won't hurt you, and I will be your faithful servant.” The Stag was foolish enough to be persuaded to return, and this time the Lion made no mistake, but overpowered him, and feasted right royally upon his carcase. The Fox, meanwhile, watched his chance and, when the Lion wasn't looking, filched away the brains to reward him for his trouble. Presently the Lion began searching for them, of course without success: and the Fox, who was watching him, said, “I don't think it's much use your looking for the brains: a creature who twice walked into a Lion's den can't have got any.”
有一只狮子生病了，躺在洞穴中，没有办法自己出去觅食。于是对过来探望的朋友狐狸说：“我亲爱的朋友啊，希望你能够去那远处的森林里，把生活在那里的大雄鹿骗到我的洞穴来，我真的希望餐桌上能有鹿心和鹿脑吃。”狐狸去了森林，找到雄鹿，对他说：“亲爱的先生，你可真幸运。你认识我们的国王狮子吧，唉，他正奄奄一息，想要将你任命为他的继任者，由你来掌管百兽。希望你不要忘了我是第一个来告诉你这好消息的。我现在可得回去见狮子国王了，如果你愿意听我一言，最好能和我一起过去，在他临死前和他待在一起。”雄鹿听了十分欢喜，便跟着狐狸去了狮子的洞穴，一点也没起疑心。雄鹿一进入狮子的洞穴，狮子便扑向他，但是狮子因病对自己的弹跳能力估计不足，雄鹿只是耳朵受伤，逃过了一劫，便转身飞跑回森林中。狐狸感到很羞耻，狮子也失望至极，因为尽管生着病，他也已经饿坏了。所以他求狐狸再去试一次。“这次是几乎不可能了，不过我会去试试。”狐狸说完便又去了树林里，发现雄鹿正在休息，想要从惊恐中复原。一看到狐狸，他就大叫：“你这个坏蛋，你把我骗去送死到底是为了什么啊！快走，要不我就拿角顶死你。”但是狐狸特别无耻，说道：“你可真是个胆小鬼！你肯定不知道狮子其实没有任何恶意吧？哎呀，他只是想凑到你耳朵边跟你说些神圣的秘密，你却跟个吓坏的兔子一样跑走了。你可真把他给惹火了，现在我真不肯定，他可能会选狼王来做继任者，除非你立刻回去，证明你的胆量。我跟你保证，他不会伤害你，我会是你忠实的仆人。”雄鹿不太聪明，被狐狸给说服了，跟着他回到了狮子的洞穴。这次狮子没有犯错，一下子扑到了雄鹿身上，大吃特吃了一通。狐狸趁着狮子不注意，将鹿脑偷走当作给自己的犒赏。等狮子开始找鹿脑来吃的时候，当然没有找到。狐狸在一边看着，说：“我觉得你还是别找什么鹿脑了，这家伙两回都被我骗到了狮子的洞穴，根本不会有脑子。”