The Lion Grown Old

The Lion Grown Old is part of a series of fables penned by the French author, Jean de La Fontaine. This story illustrates the life lessons of power dynamics and respect through the narrative of a once-powerful lion now grown old and weak. The lion's authority is challenged by other animals, regardless of their prior fear of him. The fable uses the anthropomorphized animal characters and their interactions to drive home powerful themes of respect for the elderly and the fleeting nature of power.

Genre: Fable

								
A Lion, once the terror of the plain
(Borne clown with age, and weakened by decay)
Against rebellious vassals fought in vain,
And found his foes the victors of the fray.
The Horse advanced, and gave his king a kick--
The Wolf a bite--the Ox a brutal butt:
Meanwhile the Lion, worn, and sad, and sick,
Could scarce resent this, the "unkindest cut."

But when an Ass came running to the place,
The monarch murmured, with his latest breath,
"Enough! I wished to die, but this disgrace
Imparts a twofold bitterness to death."
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