THE LIFE OF ABBA PAUL THE GREEK
Abba Alexander of the Lavra of Calamén by the holy Jordan said: One day, when I was with Abba Paul the Greek at his cave, somebody came and knocked at the door. The elder went out and opened it. Then he took out and set before him bread and soaked peas, which he wolfed down. I thought it must be some stranger; I looked through the window and saw that it was a lion. I said to the elder, “Good elder, why do you feed that animal? Explain to me.”
He said, “I have required of it that it harm neither man nor beast; and I have told it to come here each day, and I will give it its food. It has come twice a day now for seven months—and I feed it.”
Some days later, I met him again when I wanted to buy some bottles, for he occupied his hands by making bottles. I said to him, “How are things, good elder? How is the lion?” He answered, “Badly,” and I asked, “How so?”
He told me, “It came here to be fed yesterday, and I noticed that its muzzle was all stained with blood. I said to it, ‘What is this? You have disobeyed me and eaten flesh. Blessed Lord! Never again will I feed you the food of the fathers, carnivore! Get away from here.’”
He would not go away, so I took a rope, folded it up into three, and struck it three blows with it. Then it went away.