When the animals could talk [antikvár]

THE DONKEY AND THE LION Once upon a time there was a Donkey. He suddenly decided that he had had enough of hard work and beatings from his master. "I know," he thought, "I'll flee to the forest and live in freedom! I'll graze on the forest grass and who will there be to prevent it?" So without thinking too long, he ran away from his master into the forest. He was very happy there. He grazed wherever he wanted to, didn't have to work, nobody beat him — in all his born days he had never lived so well. But one day, while grazing, he looked up and saw the Lion, frightening beyond description, coming straight toward him. "Oh!" thought the Donkey. "This will probably be the end of me!" But while the Lion was approaching, he somehow came to his senses and began to consider a way out. "Maybe I can outwit him in some way?" And right where he stood, he suddenly fell to the ground, and lay there as if without a care in the world. The Lion approached and began roaring out while still at a distance: "Hey, you, who might you be? How dare you lie there when I'm approaching? Why aren't you getting up to bow to me?" The Donkey continued to lie there as if we didn't hear He lay quietly, only flapping his long ears from time to time. The Lion came closer and roared again: "Get up immediately and salute me!" "And who might you be?" asked the Donkey. "You are asking yet?" the Lion roared threateningly. "Don't you know that I am the Lion, King of all the beasts?" Without rising, the Donkey raised his head, and goggled his eyes at him. "What kind of nonsense is this you're talking?" he asked. "You are king of all the beasts? Who told you such a thing? Do you have it in writing? Who elected you to be king? Well, speak up!" The Lion stood as if he had been stunned.