A lion fell deeply in love with a cottager's daughter and wished to marry her. The father, unwilling to give his daughter to such a fearsome husband yet afraid to offend the lion, devised an expedient. He approached the lion and said, "You would make a fine husband, but I cannot consent unless you let me pull your teeth and pare your claws, for my daughter is terribly afraid of them." So deeply in love was the lion that he readily agreed. Once thus disarmed, however, the cottager no longer feared him and drove him away with a club.