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The Lion who Wouldn’t Try

All the animals in the jungle are playing, except Lion. Why won’t Lion join in?

Suggested age: 4–6岁 · Reading level L2 · 14 illustrated pages

The Lion who Wouldn’t Try — original illustrated page 1, English text included

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This book can be read page by page, heard with synthetic Voice 7 narration, downloaded and printed. Enable JavaScript for the interactive reader, or open the story pages below.

All the animals in the jungle are playing, except Lion. Why won’t Lion join in?

Read all 14 story pages
The Lion who Wouldn’t Try — original illustrated page 1, English text included
The Lion who Wouldn’t Try
The Lion who Wouldn’t Try — original illustrated page 2, English text included
It was a sunny day in the jungle. All the animals were out playing.
The Lion who Wouldn’t Try — original illustrated page 3, English text included
"Come play with me, Lion," said Cheetah. "Catch me if you can!" ZOOM-ZOOM! went Cheetah. "I don't want to play," said Lion. "I'll lose."
The Lion who Wouldn’t Try — original illustrated page 4, English text included
"Come play with me, Lion," said Elephant. "We can throw rocks!" KA-POW! KA-POW! went Elephant. "I don't want to play," said Lion. "I'll lose."
The Lion who Wouldn’t Try — original illustrated page 5, English text included
"Come play with us, Lion!" said the monkeys. "Who can eat the most bananas?" POP! POP! POP! went the monkeys. "I don't want to play," said Lion. "I'll lose."
The Lion who Wouldn’t Try — original illustrated page 6, English text included
"Come play with me, Lion," said Springbok. "Let's jump high!" ZOOP! ZOOP! ZOOP! went Springbok. "I don't want to play," said Lion. "I'll lose."
The Lion who Wouldn’t Try — original illustrated page 7, English text included
"Come play with me, Lion," said Crocodile. "It's a swimming competition!" SPLASH! SPLASH! went Crocodile. "I don't want to play," said Lion. "I'll lose."
The Lion who Wouldn’t Try — original illustrated page 8, English text included
Elephant and Crocodile had the swimming competition without Lion. Crocodile was quicker than Elephant, but each time Crocodile got ahead, Elephant tickled him! TEE-HEE-HEE! went Elephant and Crocodile.
The Lion who Wouldn’t Try — original illustrated page 9, English text included
Lion sat sadly by himself, watching Crocodile and Elephant swim.
The Lion who Wouldn’t Try — original illustrated page 10, English text included
"Why are you sad, Lion?" asked Mouse. "Because I don't want to play," said Lion. "I'll lose."
The Lion who Wouldn’t Try — original illustrated page 11, English text included
The Lion who Wouldn’t Try — original illustrated page 12, English text included
Lion slipped on a banana peel! WHEEEEEE! went Lion. "That looks like fun!" said all the other animals.
The Lion who Wouldn’t Try — original illustrated page 13, English text included
Lion played, and he was happy.
The Lion who Wouldn’t Try — original illustrated page 14, English text included

Creators and open license

Written by
Liza Woodward
Illustrated by
André Kieswetter
Created by
André Kieswetter (Illustrator); Nick Mulgrew (Designer); Liz Sparg (Editor); Liza Woodward (Writer)

Source: Book Dash
Original: The Lion who Wouldn’t Try from Book Dash
License: CC BY 4.0

Original illustrated spreads and embedded English story text preserved; website layout and printable PDF assembled by Little Leaf. Age, level, theme and recommendation are editorial suggestions. Web and printable layout adapted by Little Leaf. Age and reading-level suggestions are editorial. Original stories and artwork belong to their credited creators. Website narration uses the selected synthetic Voice 7.