The culture depicted in both stories views its rulers as figures who must earn the respect and support of their subjects through demonstrated competence and effective leadership. In "The Lion Fable," the lion, though initially shy and reticent, recognizes that his ideas are superior to those of the more foolish animals who lead without consideration, suggesting that wisdom and thoughtfulness are valued traits in a ruler. In "The Animal Council," the council's complaints about King Lion's leadership reveal a sense of entitlement and dissatisfaction; however, their disastrous attempts to govern in his absence illustrate that true leadership requires capability and responsibility, reinforcing the idea that rulers must demonstrate their worth to maintain authority.
The Lion Fable
This story follows a lion who is shy and afraid to act for fear of looking foolish. While the lion watches quietly, several other animals step up to lead without hesitation—and make things progressively worse. Each time, the lion quietly tells his mouse friend how he would have done things, and each idea sounds like it would have been a much better and more logical solution. Finally, the mouse points out that the most foolish animals in the kingdom have stepped up to lead without hesitation and suggests that the biggest fool of them all is the lion, who has the best ideas but is too timid to lead. The lion takes the mouse’s words to heart and steps up to rule.
The Animal Council
This story is about a group of animals who serve on King Lion’s council. They gather frequently when their king is not around to complain about his rules and way of doing things. They echo one another’s concerns, and all agree that the king is their greatest problem. Hearing of their doubt, the king decides to teach the animals a lesson. He disappears for two weeks. During this time, the animal council is given the chance to lead. They make several messes, and by the end of the two weeks, the mouse alerts the king that his council is desperate to find and return him to his throne. When he returns, he tells the animals not to question his leadership if they cannot do better themselves.
Question
Use the folk tale descriptions to answer the question.
Both stories focus on characters who rule over others. In 3–5 sentences, explain how this culture views its rulers and explain what evidence you found in each story to support your answer.
1 answer