Section 62
The Gnat and the Lion explained simply
Aesop's Fables by Aesop
Original excerpt
Excerpt preview
A Gnat once went up to a Lion and said, "I am not in the least afraid of you: I don't even allow that you are a match for me in strength. What does your strength amount to after all? That you can scratch with your claws and bite with your teeth--just like a woman in a temper--and...
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Public-domain original
A Gnat once went up to a Lion and said, "I am not in the least afraid
of you: I don't even allow that you are a match for me in strength.
What does your strength amount to after all? That you can scratch
with your claws and bite with your teeth--just like a woman in a
temper--and nothing more. But I'm stronger than you: if you don't
believe it, let us fight and see." So saying, the Gnat sounded his
horn, and darted in and bit the Lion on the nose. When the Lion felt
the sting, in his haste to crush him he scratched his nose badly, and
made it bleed, but failed altogether to hurt the Gnat, which buzzed
off in triumph, elated by its victory. Presently, however, it got
entangled in a spider's web, and was caught and eaten by the spider,
thus falling a prey to an insignificant insect after having triumphed
over the King of the Beasts.
Public-domain original text shown for study context.
What happens here
A tiny gnat defeats a lion but is then caught by a spider.
Why this scene matters
This fable shows that winning one fight does not make someone safe from smaller dangers.
Characters in this scene
- Gnat: A central figure in the fable’s conflict and lesson.
- the Lion: A central figure in the fable’s conflict and lesson.
Simple story version
A gnat beats a lion by stinging him where he cannot defend himself. Then the gnat flies into a spider web.