HRE 2O1

Unit 1 Introduction

THE LION - SHEEP

A lioness in search of prey came upon a flock of sheep, and as she jumped at one
of them, she gave birth to a cub and then died on the spot. The young lion was
brought up in the flock, ate grass, and bleated like a sheep; it never knew that it
was a lion. One day a lion came across this flock and was astonished to see in it a
huge lion-sheep with them. The lion watched for an opportunity and eventually
found the lion-sheep asleep. The lion woke the lion-sheep up and said you are a
lion! The lion-sheep said no!, and began to bleat like a sheep. The stranger lion
took the lion-sheep to a lake and asked him to look in the water at his own image
and see if it did not resemble the lion. The lion-sheep looked and acknowledged
that it did. The stranger lion began to roar and asked the lion-sheep to do the
same. The lion-sheep tried his voice and was soon roaring as grandly as the other.
He was a sheep no longer.

On a separate sheet of paper, reflect on the following questions.

1. Imagine that you are the lion-sheep in the story. Now substitute the word
adult for lion and the word child for sheep. How does the story relate to
your life right now?

2. In what ways do you still think, feel and act like a child?

3. In what ways are you starting to think, feel and act like an adult?

4. Who is someone who helps you see who you really are? How?

5. What is your favourite animal? Why? In what ways would you like to be like
this animal?

6. What needs do you have that are beyond the needs of an animal?

7. What are some questions you have about life?

8. What do you think it means to have a spiritual dimension?