Dedicated to my friend Anne [link] who brings joy to my life whenever I view the beautiful nature photos she and her sweetie, Daniel, create. With thanks also for the wonderful support she gives me.

In one version of Aesop’s fable, a lion catches a mouse and threatens to eat it. The mouse pleads for his life, promising the lion that it will be its friend forever and might even be able to help it one day. The amused lion laughs at the thought that such a tiny animal could ever be of assistance to the king of beasts. Fortunately for the mouse the lion is in a good mood that day and lets the mouse go. Some time later the lion steps on a thorn and is unable to extract it from his paw since the thorn is too small for him to remove it with his big teeth. The lion is unable to walk and roaring with pain when the little mouse hears him and comes to the rescue, deftly pulling the thorn out. The grateful lion befriends the mouse, realizing that small friends may prove to be great friends.

I’ve taken some artistic license here by using a white rat, rather than a mouse, to illustrate the fable. But hey, it’s a cute rat, and this is a work of fantasy after all…

My thanks to the following stock providers:

Lion: syccas-stock [link]
Rose: rd-stock [link]
Background: trollkidsstock [link]
Thorn: xtwizx-stock [link]
Saucer: iws-stock [link]
Rat: istockphoto [link]
Texture: solstock [link]