Harpalion – the Lord of Lions
Once upon a time, there was a little donkey. He didn’t have a name yet because he was only three days old, and his owner hadn’t had time to think of one. The donkey was very cheerful, very curious, and constantly stuck his nose where it belonged—and where it didn’t.On the fourth day of his life, he was wandering around the yard when he noticed a small pit in the sand. This seemed very strange to the donkey. He spread his hooves wider, bent down, and sniffed to see what it smelled like. Suddenly, a terrifying monster jumped out of the sand—a round belly, many, many legs, all reaching out toward the donkey! It was a bug-spider, an antlion, which sits in sandy pits waiting for ants. The donkey, of course, wasn’t an ant, but he got scared anyway and let out a loud bray.
Hearing the noise, his owner came running. Seeing what had happened, he burst out laughing.
“What a brave one, scared of a little bug, an antlion! Well, now I know what to call you. You’ll be called Harpalionu—the Lord of Lions.” And so the donkey got his name.
Time passed, the donkey grew and grew, and finally, he became a big donkey. One day, he was standing in his stall, chewing hay. As he chewed, various thoughts wandered through his donkey head.
“I must be an extraordinary donkey. For example, one of my acquaintances is called Long-Eared, another is called Gray. But there’s no donkey in the whole world named Harpalionu. A donkey with such a name shouldn’t be carrying loads on his back or listening to commands.”
And so, our donkey decided to go out into the world to seek his fortune.
He jerked his head—breaking the halter—kicked his hooves—smashing the door—and ran out into freedom.
The donkey ran through fields and plains. The grass was tall all around, and there was plenty of thistle! He stopped, wagged his tail, and brayed with joy so loudly that the echo rolled far and wide.
A lion happened to pass by, heard the donkey’s bray, and wanted to find out who had such a magnificent voice. He jumped out of the bushes, saw the donkey, and was surprised. He had never seen such an animal before. The voice was almost lion-like, the tail had a tuft just like a lion’s, but still, it wasn’t a lion!
“Who are you? What’s your name?” the lion asked.
“Harpalionu,” the donkey replied.
“Harpalionu?” the lion was taken aback.
“Yes,” the donkey confirmed with dignity. “I am the strongest and smartest in the world.”
“Very pleased to meet you, then. Let’s be friends,” the lion suggested.
“That suits me,” the donkey replied. And so they set off together.
Soon, a river blocked their path.
“Now comes the unpleasant part,” the lion said, shivering. “We’ll have to get our fur wet!”
“Nonsense!” snorted the donkey. “Only fleas are afraid of water.”
The lion roared in offense and jumped into the river. The donkey, in no hurry, also entered the water. He often had to carry loads across shallow streams. This time, everything was fine as long as he felt solid ground under his hooves. But then the cold water tickled his belly, he had to lift his muzzle, and then it got worse—the bottom disappeared beneath him. The donkey plunged headfirst and almost drowned. He thrashed his hooves, surfaced, went under again, and surfaced once more.
Meanwhile, the lion had long since jumped out of the water, shook himself off, and looked in bewilderment at his new friend, who was still floundering in the middle of the river.
Finally, the donkey made it to the shore. He wheezed, snorted, coughed, and sneezed.
“What happened to you?” the lion asked. “You said swimming was a piece of cake!”
“It is,” said Harpalionu. “But you see, I noticed a fish in the water and tried to catch it with my tail to treat you to lunch. The stupid fish didn’t understand the honor and resisted with all its might. So I had to struggle with it.”
“Where’s the fish?” the lion asked.
“Near the shore, I saw it was just a bony pike and threw it back.”
The friends dried off a bit and continued on their way. They walked and walked until they came to a high wall. The lion, without thinking twice, leaped over it in one jump. But the poor donkey first lifted his front legs, threw them over the wall, pushed off with his hind legs, and ended up hanging by his belly—front hooves on one side, hind hooves on the other.
The lion was very surprised.
“What are you doing there?” he shouted.
“Can’t you see I’m weighing myself?” the donkey barely managed to say.
Then he desperately kicked his hind legs and fell to the ground.
“It’s strange,” he told his companion, “no matter how many times I weigh myself, it’s always the same—my head is heavier, that’s all. But that’s understandable, with so much brains...”
“You’re smart, alright,” the lion agreed, “but, don’t take offense, it seems you boasted about your strength in vain.”
“Well, you know,” the donkey retorted, “I have as much strength as brains. Why look far? Let’s test our strength right here. Try to break this wall.”
The lion nodded his shaggy head, raised his paw, swung, and struck the stone wall. The wall stood as firm as ever, and the lion painfully bruised his paw.
Then the donkey took over. First, he carefully examined the wall and noticed a loose stone at the bottom. Then he turned around, aimed, and kicked the wall once, twice. The stone flew out, and a large section of the wall collapsed, hitting the lion’s other paw. “Yes,” the lion said with respect. “Until now, I thought there was no animal stronger than a lion. It turns out I was wrong. What else can you do?” he asked respectfully.
“I can also eat thistles,” the donkey said, who by this time was very hungry.
“Well, that’s impossible to believe!” the lion exclaimed.
Harpalionu looked around, chose the most lush thistle bush, and happily began chewing the prickly leaves and flowers.
“Now I see you’re truly an extraordinary animal, and you don’t bear your name for nothing,” the lion said. “You were born to rule over all beasts. Come quickly, I’ll introduce you to my relatives. I’m sure they’ll be happy to call you their lord.”
“That suits me,” the donkey agreed.
The lion bounded forward in huge leaps. The donkey barely kept up.
Soon they reached a desert area where rocky cliffs rose among the yellow sands. The lion ran up to the highest one and let out a deafening roar. In response, equally fierce roars were heard, and shaggy relatives began to gather from all sides.
Our donkey, admittedly, was a bit intimidated by the sight of the lion tribe. But then he remembered his name was Harpalionu and straightened up—flapped his ears and stuck his tail out to the side.
The lion said:
“Brothers, I’ve brought you an amazing animal. I think we’ll never find a better ruler.”
“Why do we need a ruler?” the lions asked.
“But you don’t know what he can do. He catches fish with his tail, he’s so smart that his head always outweighs his rear, and he’s so strong that his mighty kicks can break stone walls. But the most important thing is that he can eat thistles. Plus, his name is Harpalionu.”
“Well, if that’s the case,” the lions said, “let him be our king.”
And so, the donkey Harpalionu became the Lord of Lions.
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