With a single bound he reached the
poor slave. Androclus gave a great cry, not of fear, but of gladness.
It was his old friend, the lion of the cave.
The people, who had ex-pect-ed to see the man killed by the lion, were
filled with wonder. They saw Androclus put his arms around the lion's
neck; they saw the lion lie down at his feet, and lick them
lov-ing-ly; they saw the great beast rub his head against the slave's
face as though he wanted to be petted. They could not un-der-stand
what it all meant.
[Illustration: Androclus and the Lion.]
After a while they asked Androclus to tell them about it. So he
stood up before them, and, with his arm around the lion's neck, told
how he and the beast had lived together in the cave.
"I am a man," he said; "but no man has ever befriended me. This poor
lion alone has been kind to me; and we love each other as brothers."
The people were not so bad that they could be cruel to the poor slave
now. "Live and be free!" they cried. "Live and be free!"
Others cried, "Let the lion go free too! Give both of them their
liberty!"
And so Androclus was set free, and the lion was given to him for his
own. And they lived together in Rome for many years.
HORATIUS AT THE BRIDGE.
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