The Gift of Kindness

letdot52 In a rain forest deep in the heartof Africa, there lived a noble lion who was limping through theforest in agonizing pain. When he made it out of the forest, he stumbled upon a meadow where a shepherd was tending to his herd of sheep. The lion desperately needed help, so he slowly crept toward the shepherd. At first the shepherd was startled to see a lion creeping toward him and wondered what the lion's intentions were. Then he noticed that the lion, which was very close now, was in pain because there was a thorn in his paw. The shepherd waited for the lion to make his way to him.

When the lion was next to the shepherd, he laid his head in the shepherd’s lap as if asking for compassion. The shepherd willingly decided to help the lion, so heremoved the thorn from the lion’s paw. The lion looked at his paw and then stared at the shepherd, as if noticing his kindness. The lion dashed back into the forest and the shepherd resumed tending to his flock. Sometime after, the shepherd was unfairly accused of a crime he did not commit. He was condemned to die in the lion’s den.

The shepherd was trembling in fear as he watched the gates open. He observed as a ferocious, blood-thirsty lion advanced out of its cage on its way toward the shepherd. When the lion reached the shepherd, he stopped for he recognized the shepherd as the kind man who had relieved him of his pain. The lion gently laid his head on the shepherd’s lap, as a sign that no harm would arise from him. The emperor, who was astonished at this sight of friendship, ordered the guards to release the lion back into the forest, and for the shepherd to be sent back to his friends. In the end, it was the gift of kindness that the shepherd had bestowed upon the lion that was returned to him in the most incredible way.

Comments

Ignore the underlines. This was a short story I wrote for a class in school. - letdot52 (3/20/2015)

Androcles all grown up. - Puga (3/20/2015)

I loved this! I believe that if you're kind to someone, they should be kind to you. It doesn't always happen, but when it does it brings a warmth to my heart. I really enjoyed this story. (ﾉ� - �ヮ� - �)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧ - visitor (3/20/2015)

That story was awesome! - Garythesnail (3/26/2015)

This is such a great story! I really liked it! A good lesson! - Lina1028 (3/23/2015)

Glad it turned out well for the shepherd - Animefan12 (3/23/2015)

This is such a good story! - Turkeyasylum (3/27/2015)

*claps slowly 3 times* Well done. - Delgia2k (3/31/2015)

Love it - peytonmeyer1234 (4/24/2015)