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"title": "The Lion And The Gnat",
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"summary": "\"The Lion And The Gnat\" is a short fable by Aesop in which a tiny gnat boldly challenges the mighty Lion, King of Beasts. Refusing to be dismissed, the gnat launches a stinging attack that drives the lion into a furious, self-destructive frenzy. What seems like an impossible victory for the smallest of creatures quickly sets up a sharp twist — a reminder that pride in triumph can blind even the boldest victor to the dangers that lurk ahead.",
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"“Away with you, vile insect!” said a Lion angrily to a Gnat that was buzzing around his head. But the Gnat was not in the least disturbed.",
"“Do you think,” he said spitefully to the Lion, “that I am afraid of you because they call you king?”",
"The next instant he flew at the Lion and stung him sharply on the nose. Mad with rage, the Lion struck fiercely at the Gnat, but only succeeded in tearing himself with his claws. Again and again the Gnat stung the Lion, who now was roaring terribly. At last, worn out with rage and covered with wounds that his own teeth and claws had made, the Lion gave up the fight.",
"The Gnat buzzed away to tell the whole world about his victory, but instead he flew straight into a spider’s web. And there, he who had defeated the King of beasts came to a miserable end, the prey of a little spider.",
"Aesop was an ancient Greek storyteller, believed to have lived around 620–560 BCE, whose fables have been retold across cultures for over two millennia. \"The Lion And The Gnat\" is one of his most pointed moral tales, using the contrast between the mighty and the minuscule to deliver a lesson about pride, power, and unforeseen consequence. Though Aesop himself likely passed these stories down orally, they were later compiled and preserved in written collections that continue to be read worldwide."
],
"body_text": "“Away with you, vile insect!” said a Lion angrily to a Gnat that was buzzing around his head. But the Gnat was not in the least disturbed.\n\n“Do you think,” he said spitefully to the Lion, “that I am afraid of you because they call you king?”\n\nThe next instant he flew at the Lion and stung him sharply on the nose. Mad with rage, the Lion struck fiercely at the Gnat, but only succeeded in tearing himself with his claws. Again and again the Gnat stung the Lion, who now was roaring terribly. At last, worn out with rage and covered with wounds that his own teeth and claws had made, the Lion gave up the fight.\n\nThe Gnat buzzed away to tell the whole world about his victory, but instead he flew straight into a spider’s web. And there, he who had defeated the King of beasts came to a miserable end, the prey of a little spider.\n\nAesop was an ancient Greek storyteller, believed to have lived around 620–560 BCE, whose fables have been retold across cultures for over two millennia. \"The Lion And The Gnat\" is one of his most pointed moral tales, using the contrast between the mighty and the minuscule to deliver a lesson about pride, power, and unforeseen consequence. Though Aesop himself likely passed these stories down orally, they were later compiled and preserved in written collections that continue to be read worldwide.",
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