WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.410 Once upon a time a poor slave was very badly treated by his master. 00:00:06.410 --> 00:00:08.900 He was beaten and starved - 00:00:08.900 --> 00:00:10.620 and so he ran away. 00:00:10.620 --> 00:00:13.680 He knew that if his master caught him he would be killed, 00:00:13.680 --> 00:00:21.870 so he decided the safest place to hide would be somewhere in the middle of a great hot sandy desert. 00:00:21.870 --> 00:00:25.020 As he wandered about the desert in search of food and shelter, 00:00:25.020 --> 00:00:26.700 he came to a cave. 00:00:26.700 --> 00:00:29.600 It seemed to be empty and he entered it. 00:00:29.600 --> 00:00:31.880 He sat down on a rock. 00:00:31.880 --> 00:00:34.800 And then suddenly from behind him there was a roar! 00:00:34.800 --> 00:00:39.240 He looked over his shoulder and saw an enormous lion. 00:00:39.240 --> 00:00:42.000 He closed his eyes and made ready to die. 00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:44.390 But the lion didn’t spring on him. 00:00:44.390 --> 00:00:47.720 It came forwards whining and fawning. 00:00:47.720 --> 00:00:51.060 The slave saw it was lifting one of its paws. 00:00:51.060 --> 00:00:54.950 The lion put its foot onto the slave’s knee; 00:00:54.950 --> 00:00:57.590 it was swollen and sore. 00:00:57.590 --> 00:01:01.350 The slave lifted it gently and examined it; 00:01:01.350 --> 00:01:05.760 there was a large thorn embedded in the ball of the foot. 00:01:05.760 --> 00:01:09.210 Carefully, the slave pulled out the thorn. 00:01:09.210 --> 00:01:15.460 He cleaned the wound and bound it with a piece of cloth torn from his own tunic 00:01:15.460 --> 00:01:18.280 and soon the wound healed. 00:01:18.280 --> 00:01:22.460 From that day onwards the lion treated the slave as a friend. 00:01:22.460 --> 00:01:26.560 Every day he would go out hunting and bring back food; 00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:30.520 the slave would make a fire and cook the meat. 00:01:30.520 --> 00:01:35.770 They would sleep side by side in the firelight. 00:01:35.770 --> 00:01:37.660 After several months though, 00:01:37.660 --> 00:01:40.910 the slave began to long for human company. 00:01:40.910 --> 00:01:46.000 He said goodbye to the lion and made his way across the desert to a city. 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:51.530 As he approached the city it so happened that his old master was riding along the same road. 00:01:51.530 --> 00:01:53.880 When he saw his lost slave he shouted: 00:01:53.880 --> 00:01:55.270 ‘Seize him! Seize him!’ 00:01:55.270 --> 00:01:58.810 The slave was captured and condemned to death. 00:01:58.810 --> 00:02:01.910 ‘And it won’t be a pretty death,’ said his master, 00:02:01.910 --> 00:02:04.380 ‘You’ll be thrown to a wild beast. 00:02:04.380 --> 00:02:07.500 You’ll be eaten alive.’ 00:02:07.500 --> 00:02:10.450 At the end of the week he was brought to the arena. 00:02:10.450 --> 00:02:13.250 A great crowd had gathered to watch. 00:02:13.250 --> 00:02:16.180 In a cage there was an enormous lion, 00:02:16.180 --> 00:02:18.010 pacing to and fro, 00:02:18.010 --> 00:02:20.820 roaring and growling. 00:02:20.820 --> 00:02:23.820 The slave was thrown into the arena. 00:02:23.820 --> 00:02:27.020 The door of the cage was opened. 00:02:27.020 --> 00:02:30.640 But to the people’s amazement the lion, 00:02:30.640 --> 00:02:32.730 as soon as he saw the slave, 00:02:32.730 --> 00:02:36.390 bounded across to him like a huge tame cat, 00:02:36.390 --> 00:02:39.670 rubbing himself against him and purring. 00:02:39.670 --> 00:02:42.980 The slave stroked the lion’s head and back, 00:02:42.980 --> 00:02:45.460 the lion licked the slave’s cheek, 00:02:45.460 --> 00:02:47.460 as though he was a kitten. 00:02:47.460 --> 00:02:51.040 The lion had recognised his old friend. 00:02:51.040 --> 00:02:53.090 The spectators were amazed. 00:02:53.090 --> 00:02:54.490 They started shouting: 00:02:54.490 --> 00:02:57.520 ‘Spare his life! Spare his life!’ 00:02:57.520 --> 00:03:00.650 And the governor of the city, when he heard the story, 00:03:00.650 --> 00:03:04.700 marvelled at such gratitude in a wild beast 00:03:04.700 --> 00:03:10.190 and ordered that both slave and lion should be set free.