(image source - although we have here a leaena rather than a leo trying hard to catch dinner)
M0005 = Perry148. Source: De Furia 97. This is Perry 148. Compare the fable of the dog and his reflection, #348, or the story of the goose that laid the golden eggs, #571. Read a Fabula Facilis version of this fable.
5. The Lion, The Rabbit, and the Deer. The lion found a sleeping rabbit, and got ready to gobble him up. In the meantime, though, he saw a deer passing by. He abandoned the rabbit, and started to chase the deer. Awakened by the ruckus, the rabbit thereupon ran off. The lion, however, chased the deer for a long way but failed to catch her, and so he returned to the rabbit. When he discovered that the rabbit had also escaped, he said, "By Hercules, I got what I deserved because I cast aside the food I had ready in my hands, preferring to chase an uncertain hope instead.
