Once upon a time, it was about twilight, all the animals of the kingdom were assembled before a large stone. What were they come for? All the beasts in the forest had been invited to hear the lion, their king, speak. It is true that the lion did not invite them all at once; he sent the invitation to each animal by a swift gazelle; otherwise there would have been a great confusion.
So the lion mounted on a throne of quartzrock, and the fox, his prime minister, seated himself at his side.
Then all the other beasts sat down, eager to hear the lion deliver his speech.
“I have done you the honour of inviting you to a meeting,” began the lion, with company in his office. “It is because you hold a language in common, the language of action, of doing good for good’s sake.
You dogs alone, who are my executioners, do not deserve the honour of this gathering, for you are content with sordid gain.”
“King lion,” answered the dogs, “the sordid gain you reproach us with, is the respectability we owe to our wives and families. When we have eaten two or three good slices of good buckwheat we go out to hunt women and children and such like, or cut up fat oxen and give refreshments to the poor.”
“What are you grumbling about,” said the lion, “it is killing and devouring which is important, other things are mere detail. I have had you called together to discuss means of improving our common action, so that future generations may have greater advantages than we have had.”
“Yea,” said the panther.
“And that fresh-abroadpleck doth cause,” said the cock.
“Quiet, good friends,” cried the lion.
“I have consulted my ministers; their advices are summed up in the following formula, the very first that comes into notice, and which, I am told, everybody ought to follow.”
He then read, “Movens movetmores.”
“What?” cried the lizard.
“Movens movetmores.”
“Mores,” “mores,” cried the dogs, with their noses and tails stuck up, “we ask for mores, we want more.”
The lion’s adviser, the fox, administered effectual delay with presence of mind.
“My good friends,” said he, “the king, my master, has a hundred public, and also a hundred private reasons for wishing to make us true veg- etarians. In ancient times speeches were quickly made.” So saying he quoted the lion’s formula and wandered along on a non-declining verb.
The other animals then likewise took the idea on board, and the panther ended by turning in motion the common action which the lion had recommended.