A farmer and his wife once lived in the country of Mongolia. Their home was a tent-like house called a ger. One day the wife was cleaning the ger when she heard her husband calling.

“Wife, where are you?” the farmer yelled.

The wife continued to tidy the house. As she was cleaning the table, the farmer ran into the ger and said, “There is a lion! He is coming toward our house. He looks really hungry. He could eat us in no time at all! What are we going to do?”

The wife said to him, “Don’t worry about that lion. Just tell him you are on your way to hunt for big, fat lions for supper.” Then she got out an egg. “Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you.” She whispered in his ear and put the egg into his pocket.

The farmer felt better after hearing his wife’s instructions. He told her he would do just what she said.

When the farmer walked out of the house, the lion asked, “Where do you think you are going, farmer?”

“I am going out to hunt for fat lions like you,” the farmer said.

The lion was surprised. “Do you think you can catch a strong lion like me? Ha!” said the lion with a laugh. “You must be crazy! I am much stronger than you. You should not be so foolish!”

“Let’s have a contest to see who is stronger,” suggested the farmer. “Whoever is stronger will be the master and command the other.”

The lion quickly agreed. “That is fair. What should we do?”

The farmer pointed to the ground and said, “Crush that rock over there.”

The lion picked up the rock and squashed it into powder. “Now, let’s see what you can do with a rock,” said the lion.

As the lion began to look for a rock, the farmer pretended to pick one up from the ground. Instead, he took the egg from his pocket and squeezed it until it cracked. “Oh, my! You have squeezed the rock so hard that the juice has come out of it!” the lion exclaimed.

“Yes, I have. And I can do even more with my strength,” said the farmer.

The lion had been defeated. Because he did not win the contest, he would have to do everything the farmer told him to do.

The next day the farmer was riding on the lion’s back. The farmer told the lion to stop so he could get down. “This is a good tree to get the wood I need to make a bow and some arrows,” the farmer said. The farmer walked over to the branches. He tried to break one from the tree, but he could not even bend it.

“Do you need some help, master?” asked the lion.

“That would be nice,” said the farmer.

As the lion reached for the branches, he asked, “What happened to your strength, farmer?”

The farmer quickly answered, “I’m just tired from not sleeping well. Keep working, lion.” Then the farmer quietly sneaked off and ran home as fast as he could.

The farmer was very upset. “The lion knows! I’m sure he is going to catch both of us,” he said to his wife as he kept watching out the window. “I see him! He is on his way here now!”

The wife said, “Calm down, husband. There is no reason to worry about that lion.”

“How can you say that when we are in danger?” questioned the farmer.

The wife said, “Listen to me. When the lion gets near the door, ask me what we’re eating for supper.”

As soon as the lion was close enough to hear them talking, the husband asked, “What are we having for supper tonight?”

“Your favorite. I am cooking a stew from the lion you killed last night. It will be very tasty,” the wife said loud enough for the lion to hear.

The lion suddenly became very frightened. He turned and ran away. He hoped that the farmer had not seen him.

The farmer and his wife never saw the lion again.