M0010 = Perry706. Source: Camerarius 453 (shortened). This is Perry 706. To find out how the oxen became the slaves of man, see #282; for the story of the horse’s subjugation, see #269. See also the story of the monkey who got into trouble with a tree trunk, #122. Read a Fabula Facilis version of this fable.
10. The Lion's Son and the Man. The lion taught his son not to fight with man, but his words did not reach his son's heart. When he grew up, the lion's son goes forth and sees cattle in the field and he asks if they are men, but they say that they bear the yoke that the man puts on them. Then he sees a horse and asks if he is a man. Hardly, says he; I am a horse, but I serve the man. A little later, he sees someone in woods, splitting logs with wedges. You seem to be a man, says he; therefore, you will fight with me. Certainly, says he; but first, please split this tree. The lion immediately slips his claws into the crack in the tree and as he moves it apart, the wedge falls out and so he is caught. Using every bit of his strength, he got his paws free from the log and went back to his father, his paws all bloodied, and he says, Father, if I had obeyed your commands, I would not have lost my claws.
