Vedantic Tales:
The Discipleship of Hari: The Lion

The mother ewe who had nursed Hari and had seen him through his early years had forgotten that he was not her own but was in actual fact the son of a lioness. It was not only the mother sheep but all the sheep who had forgotten the extraordinary circumstances of Hari's birth, though it had taken place in the lifetime of most of them.

At the time it happened, Hari's birth had sent momentary panic into the heart of the flock, as well it might have. It was a most unusual and most alarming event. On that particular day the sheep had been grazing and bleating and following one another about in perfect contentment, when there appeared on the edge of the forest bordering the meadow a tawny lioness. She stood sniffing the air and staring at the flock with a curious smile half desperate, half hopeful-playing about her lips. The lioness was not well. Her body was swollen and her breath came in short gasps. She was not young; she had not eaten for days; she was about to give birth, and, what is more, she had a bad heart. Slowly and painfully she approached the flock, never taking her eyes from them.

It was some time before the sheep got wind of the fact that they were being attacked. The lioness was practically upon them before one by one they turned to look at her. For several seconds there was no reaction and then suddenly such a bleating and confused scampering took place that the lioness curled her lip in impatience and contempt. She had neither the strength nor the inclination to chase all over the meadow. Nit-wits, she snarled.

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