Other editions of book Androcles and the Lion

Overture; forest sounds, roaring of lions, Christian hymn faintly. A jungle path. A lion's roar, a melancholy suffering roar, comes from the jungle. It is repeated nearer. The lion limps from the jungle on three legs, holding up his right forepaw, in which a huge thorn sticks. He sits down and contemplates it. He licks it. He shakes it. He tries to extract it by scraping it along the ground, and hurts himself worse. He roars piteously. He licks it again. Tears drop from his eyes. He limps painfully off the path and lies down under the trees, exhausted with pain. Heaving a long sigh, like wind in a trombone, he goes to sleep. Androcles and his wife Megaera come along the path. He is a small, thin, ridiculous little man who might be any age from thirty to fifty-five. He has sandy hair, watery compassionate blue eyes, sensitive nostrils, and a very presentable forehead; but his good points go no further; his arms and legs and back, though wiry of their kind, look shrivelled and starved. He carries a big bundle, is very poorly clad, and seems tired and hungry.

Overture; forest sounds, roaring of lions, Christian hymn faintly. A jungle path. A lion's roar, a melancholy suffering roar, comes from the jungle. It is repeated nearer. The lion limps from the jungle on three legs, holding up his right forepaw, in which a huge thorn sticks. He sits down and contemplates it. He licks it. He shakes it. He tries to extract it by scraping it along the ground, and hurts himself worse. He roars piteously. He licks it again. Tears drop from his eyes. He limps painfully off the path and lies down under the trees, exhausted with pain. Heaving a long sigh, like wind in a trombone, he goes to sleep.

Androcles, a fugitive Christian tailor, accompanied by his nagging wife, is on the run from his Roman persecutors. While hiding in the forest he comes upon a wild lion who approaches him with a wounded paw. His wife runs off. Androcles sees that the cause of the animal's distress is a large thorn embedded in its paw, which he draws out while soothing the lion in baby language.

George Bernard Shaw's re-telling of the classic Androcles tale. Androcles is a slave and a Christian in Roman times. He removes a thorn from the paw of a lion and is rewarded years later when the lion refuses to eat him at a public execution. Instead, the lion recognises Androcles and fawns upon him, much to the surprise of the Emperor.The Horsham House Press Classics series brings together the greatest titles by the greatest authors in one comprehensive and stylish collection. Available at all good booksellers. Visit www.horshamhouse.com for more information on other titles in the series and where to purchase.

Androcles, a fugitive Christian tailor, accompanied by his nagging wife, is on the run from his Roman persecutors. While hiding in the forest he comes upon a wild lion who approaches him with a wounded paw. His wife runs off. Androcles sees that the cause of the animal's distress is a large thorn embedded in its paw, which he draws out while soothing the lion in baby language.

Famed playwright George Bernard Shaw's quirky version of the ancient Androcles fable deftly combines elements of satire and humor along with a surprisingly philosophically complex view of Christianity and religious belief systems in general. This playful take on the issues of persecution and martyrdom is as timely today as it was when initially published a century ago.

George Bernard Shaw was an Irish writer who is considered to be one of the greatest playwrights of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Shaw's first major success was Arms and the Man, written in 1894, and he would go on to write other classics including Pygmalion, Major Barbara, and Mrs. Warren's Profession. Androcles and the Lion is a play that tells the story of a slave who is saved by the mercy of a lion.