Story Voice

The Lion and the Mouse Story

The Lion and the Mouse is a classic story from Aesop's Fables for Kids, for children aged 3–6. This page has the English story with a native English narration (about 2 min), plus the Chinese version with Mandarin narration (about 2 min). Free to read and listen, no sign-up.

Aesop's fable of a lion who lets a little mouse go, and the mouse who later chews through the hunter's net to set him free. Short and gentle, with native English narration, plus the Chinese version in Mandarin.

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Tap any sentence in the story to start reading from there. It stops at the end.

A narrator, and a voice of its own for each character: The Lion, The Mouse, The Hunter

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Read The Lion and the Mouse

One warm afternoon, a big lion was asleep in the shade. A little mouse ran by and, without looking, ran right over his nose.

The lion woke up and caught the mouse under his great paw. "Who is running on my nose?" he roared.

The mouse shook all over. "I'm sorry, King Lion. Please let me go. One day I might help you," he squeaked.

The lion laughed. "You? Help me? You are so small!" But he lifted his paw. "Go on, then." And the mouse ran away.

A few days later, the lion was caught in a hunter's net. The more he pulled, the tighter it got. "We'll fetch him in the morning," said the hunter. The lion roared and roared.

The mouse heard him and came running. He climbed the net and chewed the ropes, one by one, until the lion was free. "See? Even a mouse can help," he said. The lion bowed his head. "Thank you, little friend."

The Chinese version: 狮子和老鼠

太阳暖暖的，一只大狮子躺在树荫下睡午觉。一只小老鼠跑过来，没看清路，一下子跑到了狮子的鼻子上。

狮子醒了，伸出大爪子，一下就把小老鼠按住了。它张开大嘴，吼道：“谁敢在我鼻子上跑？”

小老鼠吓得浑身发抖，小声说：“狮子大王，对不起，我不是故意的。请您放了我吧，说不定哪一天，我也能帮您的忙呢。”

狮子听了，哈哈大笑：“你这么小，能帮我什么忙？”它笑够了，松开爪子，说：“去吧去吧，我才不吃你这么一丁点儿。”小老鼠一溜烟跑了。

过了几天，狮子在树林里走，忽然被一张大网罩住了。它越挣扎，网缠得越紧。远处的猎人说：“明天早上再来收网吧。”狮子急得大吼起来，吼声传遍了整片树林。

小老鼠听见了，跑来一看，是狮子！它爬上网，用小牙齿咬呀咬，咬断了一根绳子，又一根，又一根……网松开了，狮子钻了出来。小老鼠说：“您看，我也能帮上忙吧？”狮子低下头，轻轻用鼻子碰了碰它：“小朋友，谢谢你。”

The Lion and the Mouse Story: the moral of the story

Never look down on anyone: even the smallest friend can be a big help. And when someone says sorry and asks for a chance, give it to them.

Chinese words in The Lion and the Mouse

Play the Chinese narration and listen for these words. The pinyin shows the tones.

  • 狮子shī zi

    lion

  • 老鼠lǎo shǔ

    mouse

  • 爪子zhuǎ zi

    paw

  • 吼hǒu

    to roar

  • 网wǎng

    net

  • 绳子shéng zi

    rope

  • 咬yǎo

    to bite, to chew

  • 帮忙bāng máng

    to help

For families learning Mandarin

Mandarin learning pack

Print the story, read it together, then listen and say it back. Made for heritage families and children learning Mandarin.

  • A printable PDF (3 pages): the Chinese story with pinyin over every character, the words to know, the English version, questions to talk about, and character writing practice.
  • Slow Mandarin audio (4 min): every sentence at a gentler pace, followed by a pause long enough to say it back.

Buy once, download again any time. The story itself stays free to read and hear. Try the free sample pack (The Tortoise and the Hare) first.

Page one of the The Lion and the Mouse learning pack: the Chinese story with pinyin over every character

Bedtime storytelling tips

  • Use a low, slow, big voice for the lion and a thin, quick one for the mouse. Children love the contrast.
  • When the mouse chews the ropes, tap your child's palm gently as you say "one by one" until the net comes loose.
  • At the end, ask: "The lion is so big and the mouse is so small. So why was it the mouse who saved the lion?"

Things to talk about afterwards

  • What did the mouse do to wake the lion?
  • Why did the lion laugh and let the mouse go?
  • The mouse is tiny. How did he save the lion?

Read this story to your child in your own voice

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The Lion and the Mouse Story: common questions

What is the moral of The Lion and the Mouse?
Don't look down on anyone, because even the smallest friend can help you when it matters. The lion spares the mouse, and later the mouse chews through the net and sets him free. Kindness comes back to you.
Who wrote The Lion and the Mouse?
It is one of Aesop's fables, number 150 in the Perry Index, from ancient Greece around the 6th century BC. The fables were collected by later writers, and Jean de La Fontaine also retold this one in verse.
Is The Lion and the Mouse good for toddlers?
Yes. It is one of the shortest fables, with only a lion, a mouse and a hunter heard from far away. Nothing frightening happens, and the lion is freed almost as soon as he is caught. Our version is written for ages 3–6 at an A1 level of English.
Is there a Chinese version of The Lion and the Mouse?
Yes. It is called 狮子和老鼠 (shī zi hé lǎo shǔ). This page has our Chinese retelling with Mandarin narration next to the English one.

Source and how we retold it

Aesop's fables, number 150 in the Perry Index. Aesop is said to have been a storyteller in ancient Greece around the 6th century BC; the fables were passed on by word of mouth and collected later, and they have long been in the public domain. Our retelling keeps the plot as it is, the lion sparing the mouse and the mouse gnawing through the net, and uses no existing translation. The hunter's single line from far away and the lion nuzzling the mouse at the end are small touches we added for young listeners.

The narration on this page is AI-generated: the English is read by our narrator and the Chinese by our narrator. The audio files are labeled as AI-generated.

If you liked The Lion and the Mouse Story, there are more stories in Aesop's Fables for Kids. You can also read this one to your child in your own voice.

More Aesop's Fables for Kids