Once long ago God made a Lion and a Lamb, they lived in the Garden of Eden and they were very happy living together. They played happy games and never had a care in the world. Every night they slept side by side, but they didn’t need to snuggle together, because the nights were never cold. Whenever they got hungry the Lamb ate fresh grass from the meadows, while the Lion found plenty of fruit and nuts on the trees that God provided for food.
One day the Lamb scratched its foot and bleated because the small scratch hurt a little. Full of sympathy, the Lion kissed and licked the scratch to help it heal. Unfortunately the Lion’s coarse tongue opened the scratch so that it began to bleed. The Lion tasted blood for the first time and decided that it tasted good. Without thinking the Lion tore the Lamb apart and ate it.
That night the Lion felt lonely and wondered if the Lamb would come back. The next day the Lion waited all day for the Lamb but the Lamb never appeared. The day after that the Lion began to feel hungry, so it went to the woods to look for food. Although there were plenty of fruit and nuts these no longer appealed to the Lion, they just were not worth eating, even though God had given them for food.
The Lion waited and sulked and grew lonelier and hungrier. A week later the Lion died of starvation.