The Bear and the Gardener in this case keeping the flies off a friend, and the ultimate good of safeguarding his welfare. The story gained currency in England from the 18th century on through translations or imitations of La Fontaine. One of its earliest appearances was in Robert Dodsley's "Select fables of Esop and other fabulists" (1764), where it is given the title "The Hermit and the Bear" and a milder ending. In this version a hermit has done the bear a good turn; later still this was identified with taking a thorn from its paw, drawing on the story of Androcles and the Lion.
The Wounded Lion The Wounded Lion The Wounded Lion is a Spanish fairy tale collected by D. Francisco de S. Maspons y Labros, in "Cuentos Populars Catalans". Andrew Lang included it in "The Pink Fairy Book". A poor girl got a job herding cows. One day, she heard a moan, and found a lion with a thorn in its paw. She pulled it out, and the lion thanked her by licking her hand, but she could not find the cows again. Her master beat her and set her to herding donkeys. A year later, she found the lion wounded again, and when she