An Indian farmer and his child were toiling in the fields. It was almost dark by the time they had finished their work and the farmer said to the child, "Wow! It's getting dark! Quickly pack up the tools and run. Let's run quickly!"
"Relax. We're not far from home and we know the way home. Why are you in such a panic?" asked the child. "There's something you don't know. I'm generally fearless. I'm not afraid of tigers or lions. I'm only afraid of the night. When the night comes, I'm completely powerless. The night is most terrifying to me. I'm really frightened of it. I can't stand it," answered the farmer.
It so happened that a lion was hiding nearby and overheard their conversation. "What's this thing called 'the night'? How could it be more fearful than I am? I must find out about it," the lion mused as it moved closer to the farmer, hoping to learn more about this "night" that was even more frightening than itself.
Then darkness fell and the farsighted farmer couldn't see nearby objects clearly. He only saw the vague outline of an animal approaching, thought it was the donkey he had recently lost, and beat the lion several times, saying, "I've been looking for you all day. Where have you been? How dare you come back so late?"
"This is the end of me," the lion thought with regret. "How could I have been so stupid as to come so close to this thing called 'the night' that beat me just now? It's really horrifying. What should I do now?" As these thoughts flashed through the lion's mind, the farmer again slapped it several times, urging it to go home with him. The petrified lion then obediently followed the farmer back to his house.
It was even darker when they reached home. Since the farmer continued to mistake the lion for his donkey, he tied it in a corner outside his house before he went to bed. That night, the lion stayed out in the cold, starving, petrified and not knowing what to expect of "the night" when morning dawned. It believed that the farmer was "the night."
Early the next morning, before dawn broke, the farmer got up and took his "donkey" to the fields. On the way, another lion passed by and found it hilarious to see a lion obediently following a farmer. It then approached the captive lion and asked, "What are you doing? Why are you walking behind this man?"
"Shh! Keep your voice down and leave quickly. Don't you know that this being walking in front is something called 'the night.' He's very terrible. Last night, he beat me and shackled me, leaving me cold and starving the entire night. I have no idea where he's taking me now. Run along or your life will be in danger!"
After hearing this story, the other lion said, "You're incredible. You idiot! You're a lion, the king of animals! You've been deceived! Just roar at him now and you'll know who is more terrifying." The lion accepted his advice and roared loudly, so the farmer took a closer look. Now that the sky had become brighter, he saw that it was a lion. Wow! He bolted like lightning, and the lion was free again.
【参考译文】
有一个印度的农夫跟他的小孩子出去耕田，当耕完了以後，天快要黑了，他就跟小孩说：「哇！天快黑了！不行、不行了！快收东西，快点走，我们赶快走吧！」
小孩说：「哎呀！你别紧张嘛！回家的路不远，而且我们也知道路，你干什麽这麽紧张呢？」农夫说：「不行啊！你不知道啊！我什麽都不怕，我不怕老虎、不怕狮子，我最怕那个「晚上」！只要「晚上」一来，我就软趴趴。那个「晚上」最恐怖了，我好怕、好怕，我受不了！」
刚好有一只狮子躲在旁边听到了，它就想：「这个「晚上」是什麽东西？它怎麽可能比我还恐怖呢？我倒要试试看！」它就靠近农夫，想查看「晚上」是什么种类的东西，竟然比狮子还要恐怖。
那个时候天已经黑了，那个农夫有老花眼，看不清楚，只看到一个动物跑过来靠近他，认为是他那头刚刚走掉的驴子，就打它几下，说：「找你整天找不到，去哪里了？现在才回来！」
这只狮子心想：「完了！我怎麽那么笨，跑来靠近「这个」，刚刚打我就是叫「晚上」的东西吧！好恐怖啊！现在怎么办呢？」它在想的时候，农夫又打了它好几下，催它赶快回家去，这只狮子怕死了，就跟着农夫走回去。
回家时天更黑了，因为农夫认为是他的驴子，就把狮子绑在屋外的角落边，然后进去睡觉。那只狮子在那边又饿又冷整个晚上，又害怕，不晓得明天早上那个「晚上」会再对待它怎么样？它认为农夫就是所谓的「晚上」。
隔天一大早，天还不怎么亮的时候，农夫已经起来了，出门带那头「驴子」要去耕田。走到半路时，刚好有另外一只狮子经过，它看到这只狮子乖乖地跟着农夫走在後面，就感觉到好笑，它靠近这只狮子，问：「你做什么啦？为什么跟着那个人的后面走呢？」
被绑的狮子说：「嘘！你不要那麽吵，赶快离开！你不知道前面走的那个，就是叫「晚上」的东西，他很恐怖啊，昨天我被他打，然后被绑了整个晚上又饿又冷，现在不晓得要带我到哪里去。你赶快跑，不然的话你生命难保啊！」
另外那只狮子听说这样，就说：「你真好笑，你笨蛋！你是狮子、是动物之王啊！你被骗了！你现在吼他一声，就知道谁才恐怖。」果然，这只狮子听它的话大吼一声以後，那个农夫就靠过来看，现在天亮了，一看是只狮子，哇！跑得要命。然后这只狮子就自由了。
