Once there lived a rich man in an Indian village. He had many slaves and helpers. Although the slaves worked very hard， the master was never happy with them. He was unkind and cruel to them.
　　One day， a servant made a mistake while cooking food. When the master saw the overcooked and burnt food， he became angry. He kept the servant in a small room and locked the door from outside. Anyway， the servant was able to run away through the window at night. He went to the forest. He saw an injured lion in the forest. He didn’t run away. He went near the lion and saw that there was a wound in one leg of the lion. He searched for herbs and cured its wound. After two days， the lion got recovered. They became very close friends.
　　One day， at midday， the servant was caught by the master’s guards. He was taken back to his house. The master decided to put him in front of a hungry lion. Many people came to see the lion eating the slave. There was a big lion in a cage. The master pushed the slave into the lion’s cage. It was the same lion whom the slave had helped. Instead of killing the slave， the lion started to lick his hand and hug him. Seeing this， the man thought that the slave was a great person. He freed the slave and made him his friend. Then the master started to love everyone. The master， the slave and the lion lived happily thereafter.
　　Vocabulary
　　cruel adj. 殘忍的，无情的
　　servant n. 佣人
　　wound n. 伤口，创伤
　　herb n. 草药
　　（To help others is to help yourself.）
　　郭 婕 改编