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 The Lion and the Spaniel There is a place in London called the Tower. Many years ago wild animals were kept in cages in a part of the Tower. People could go there and see them. At one time they had a lion in the Tower. He was very large and fierce and a great many people wanted to see him. They had to pay a small fee to see the king of the forest. If any one could not pay the fee he might bring a live cat or dog to feed to the lion. A good many live animals had thus been given to the lion and he had always torn them in pieces instantly and devoured them. Well, one day a small boy wanted to see the lion but he had no money. He captured a pretty little spaniel on the street and carried it to the lion. The dog was thrown into the cage. It shrunk back into the corner, whined pitiously, and trembled. The lion was not hungry . He walked up to the spaniel and smelled at it. He crouched and played with it. The keeper, seeing this, brought a mess of food and put it into the cage. The lion would not eat it. He wanted the dog to eat. By and by the dog began to eat, then the lion ate also. So they ate together and had a very friendly dinner. After that the dog and the lion were great friends and lived together happily. The lion was very kind and gentle and the spaniel was very bold and saucy. Often the dog would bark, pull the lion’s mane and bite his ears, but the lordly animal would never be cross or hurt the dog. A gentleman who had lost the spaniel found him with the lion. He claimed his dog and wanted to take him away. The keeper told him he might take the spaniel if he could but he dared not go into the cage, so he had to leave his dog there. The great lion and the little spaniel lived together a long time but at last the dog took sick and died. The lion did not understand it. He thought his little friend was sleeping.  But as the dog did not wake up the lion began to feel uneasy. He smelled at the carcass of the dog. He rolled it over with his paw and brought it food. He seemed to be in great distress and could often utter a prolonged roar. They tried to take the carcass from the cage but the lion would become furious and fly at them violently . The keeper was afraid that the cage would break, so they had to let the body of the dog remain. The lion would eat no food. He lay down by the body of his friend and moaned. At last the lion died, it seemed, of a broken heart. The spaniel and the lion were buried together in one grave. ...

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