On this page you will find Leo Tolstoy’s story “The Lion and the Little Dog” — a touching story about true friendship between animals. Double-clicking a word will open its translation and audio pronunciation. Key words can be pinned in the trainer at the end of the page. Working with the words engages motor memory and helps you remember them better. Each section also includes an audio file in MP3 format for deeper analysis and for developing listening skills.
There was a wild animal show in London. If someone wanted to see it, he had to either pay money or bring a stray dog or a cat.
One man wanted to see the show. He caught a stray dog in the street and brought it to the menagerie. They threw the dog into the lion’s cage.
The dog was very afraid. The lion came up to him, and the dog lay on his back and started wagging his tail. The lion touched him with his paw and turned him over. The dog stood on his hind legs. The lion did not hurt him.
When the zookeeper brought some meat to the lion, the lion tore a piece and gave it to the dog. After eating, the lion went to sleep, and the dog lay down to sleep too and put his head on the lion’s paw.
Since then they became good friends. They often played together and lived like this for one year.
Once a man came to the menagerie and said that the dog was his. When he tried to take the dog, the lion became angry and started to roar.
After a year the dog got sick and died. The lion smelled him and licked him. When he realized that the dog was dead, he suddenly jumped up and started to roar. He rushed to the cage and began to bite and tear it.
Then he came back to the dead dog. The owner of the menagerie thought that if he gave the lion a new dog, the lion would forget his sadness. But the lion immediately ripped the new dog apart.
The lion hugged the dead dog, stopped eating, and lay like that for five days. On the sixth day he died.
This story is about true friendship between animals.
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