The Ass, the Lion, and the Fox Who Stole the Heart

Midrash Aggadah Gaster, Exempla of the Rabbis No. 244

Curated by The Jewish Mythology Team · Published January 2, 2025

A rabbinic fable: an ass was appointed toll-gatherer on a narrow road, trusted by the king of the region to demand payment from every traveler. A lion and a fox came down the path together. The ass, obedient to his office, lifted his head and demanded the toll.

The lion roared once and struck the ass dead where he stood. Then the lion, full of his own power, walked on to the next business. The fox stayed behind to feast on the carcass — and, being a fox, he ate the heart first and most carefully.

Later the lion returned and looked at the remains. "Where is the heart?" he asked. The fox answered, smooth as ice: "Your majesty, this ass never had a heart. If he had possessed one, he would never have been such a fool as to ask a lion to pay toll."

The lion was satisfied. The fox had kept the heart, and the lion did not bother to check.

Gaster's Exempla of the Rabbis (1924, No. 244) preserves this parable from the bestiary tradition the rabbis shared with their neighbors. Its moral is double. On the surface it warns every small creature not to challenge the powers it cannot match. Beneath the surface it mocks the lion — a ruler so vain he cannot tell when a clever subject has swallowed his treasure and handed him back an explanation. Sometimes the fool is not the one on the ground.

Themes

Parables Wisdom Ethics

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