The Sick Lion and the Fox
Aesop's Fables · 1 min read
A lion, grown too old to hunt effectively, pretended to be gravely ill and confined to his den, sending word throughout the forest that all animals should visit their ailing king to pay their respects. One by one, sympathetic animals entered his den to offer condolences — and one by one, none of them ever came back out, quietly eaten the moment they stepped close enough.
A fox, invited like all the others, approached the den's entrance but stopped well short of going inside, calling his greetings and well-wishes from a careful distance instead. The lion, growing impatient, asked why the fox alone refused to enter and pay proper respects like everyone else had so graciously done.
"Your Majesty," the fox replied evenly, "I would be glad to enter — except that I've noticed a great many tracks leading into your den, and not a single one leading back out. Until I see at least one visitor leave safely, I think I'll pay my respects from right here." The lion, unable to argue without confirming the fox's suspicion, was left without his meal, and the fox's careful observation of the evidence saved him from the exact fate that had claimed every less cautious visitor before him.
Moral of the story
Tracks leading in but none leading out is evidence enough — you don't need to enter to know the truth.