The Mouse and the Lion Five Fables

At the end of the 15th century,

a Scottish notary and teacher called Robert Henryson

writes a series of animal fables based on the old stories of Aesop.

Esope myne authour makis mentioun

of twa myis and thay wer sisteris deir.

Henryson is little known these days, but experts

consider him a master.

He's the greatest poet, I think, of the 15th century

in English or Scots.

Fast-forward over 500 years

a Nobel Prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney

catches a glimpse of an early manuscript of the fables

and is spellbound.

It had a little rooster in the top right-hand corner

of the manuscript,

but the rooster was crowing

and there was something so jaunty about it.

Over several years, Seamus creates a series of modern

English translations infused with the language of his rural childhood

in Northern Ireland.

It's absolutely brilliant, it's a wonderful translation.

And he persuades Scottish actor and comedy legend Billy Connolly,

to record them.

This country mouse, when winter came, endured cold and hunger.

I think he's amazing.

His reputation swells before him.

Now, five of these fables

have been animated for a project

that Seamus Heaney was working on at the time of his death,

bringing a modern dimension

to tales that were written over half a millennium ago.

With a specially composed score by international pianist and conductor

Barry Douglas.

This is a very major thing for me,

it's a new departure. I'm very excited.

In a moment, the full animated story of The Mouse

And The Lion

with an introduction by Seamus Heaney himself

and later, some revealing behind-the-scenes footage

of how these morality tales made it to the screen.

Five medieval fables

are now ready for the second coming.

One of the most attractive features of

The Mouse And The Lion

is that it opens with a prologue

where the poet meets Aesop,

or Aesop as he imagines him.

A figure in very colourful late-mediaeval dress.

The other thing about it is the

wonderful rapturous description of nature

in this opening.

The relish that Henryson has for the description

and the beauty of the things that are being described

make it a terrifically radiant piece of work.

But then, of course,

when Aesop enters

it becomes more solemn

and the speaker enters and asks him

will he please tell him a story with a good morality in it.

And Aesop proceeds to do so.

It begins with a bunch of little mice.

Then they come to a lion, sleeping.

They think the lion is dead

so one of them leads the dance up on

to the lion's nose, head, body.

Of course he comes awake, bang, bang,

catches the little leader of the dance

and he is the king of the beasts, so he acts like a judge

and basically condemns him to death.

And there occurs another of these arguments which abound

in Henryson, almost legalistic pleading.

The king is saying,

"You will deserve to die."

And the little mouse is saying,

"Mercy, we meant no harm."

Anyway, in the end, the mouse's pleas are successful

and the lion is lenient and he goes on his way.

Eventually, since he has been ravaging the countryside,

people come out with nets to catch the lion.

They catch him.

Again, he's found by the little mouse

and there's a beautiful symmetry to it.

The mouse now is in a position to do something for the lion.

There is a good morality task about that.

In the exercise of justice, be compassionate and merciful.

It was in that sweet season, middle June

When Phoebus with his fair beams shining bright

Had dried the dew off every dale and down

And clad the land in raiment made of light.

One morning as the dun climbed to its height, I rose

and cast all sloth and sleep aside

And wandered on my own out to a wood.

Sweet was the smell of flowers, white and red

The singing of the birds a sheer delight.

Broad boughs were in full bloom above my head.

Rich herbs and herbage flourished at my feet.

All pleasure and all plenty seemed to meet

In fragrances and birdsong in that place

And the mild morning made me more rejoice.

Red roses blossoming on twig and bush

The primrose and the violet purplish blue

The jubilating blackbird and the thrush were paradise on earth

to listen to.

The banks and brays in bloom made a fine show

And scented herbs and the small birds crying -

All these things in contention, sweetly vying.

To keep myself out of the burning sun,

I lay against sweet-smelling flowers

At ease beneath a hawthorn tree in shadows green,

Then covered up my head and closed my eyes.

I fell asleep beneath those balmy boughs

And dreamt I saw come toward me through the wood

The handsomest man I ever had encountered.

His gown was made of cloth as white as milk

His outer cloak of camlet, murky purple,

His hood of scarlet, bordered well with silk

Hanging down like hackles to his girdle.

His bonnet round, in the old-fashioned style.

Beard white, eyes wide and grey, a head of hair

That curled and lay in locks upon each shoulder.

He carried in his hand a roll of paper.

A swan's-quill pen stuck out behind his ear.

An inkhorn, a neat gilt pen container

And silken pouch hung from the belt he wore

Thus was he tackled trimly in his gear,

Of stature large, imposing countenance.

Then up to where I lay, he made advance

Saying, "God bless you, son," and I was glad

Of those warm words and of his company.

I greeted him respectfully and said, "Welcome, father."

And as he sat by me

Went on, "My good master, may I kindly

"Ask who you are,

"your profession and your name.

"Why you come here, and where you call your home?"

"My son," said he, "I am a well-born man.

"None will deny my native place is Rome -

"And I got my early schooling in that town.

"I studied civil law there a long time

"And now for ever heaven is my home.

"My name is Aesop. Works that I have written

"Are known and conned by many a learned man."

"O, master Aesop, poet laureate,

"God knows you are most welcome here to me

"For are you not the very one who wrote

"Those fables, which are make-believe, maybe,

"But full of wisdom and morality?"

"Fair son," said he, "I am that selfsame man."

God knows indeed my heart was happy then.

"Aesop," I said, "my master venerable,

"Grant, I pray, this most heartfelt petition -

"Deign to tell me, please, a well-turned fable

"Leading to a good model conclusion."

He shook his said and answered, "Ah, my son,

"What good is it to tell a made-up tale

"When holy preachers preach to no avail?

"In this world now, it seems that few or none

"Hear the word of God with due devotion.

"Their ears are deaf, their hearts as hard as stone.

"Sin is blatant, flaunts without correction,

"And earthbound instinct drags the pure heart down.

"The world's so rotten, bletted, cankered black,

"My tales are told to small or no effect."

"Yet, gentle sir," said I, "I would request

"Not to disrespect your reservation -

"That you would frame a tale around a beast,

"A fable with a moral, a narration

"That might contribute to my education,

"Something worth remembering." "Well, I shall,"

Said Aesop, and proceeded with this tale.

A hunting lion, tired from his run,

Needing to catch his breath and have a rest,

Lay warming breast and belly in the sun

Under a tree in a pleasant forest.

Next thing a troupe of mice skips from their nest,

Nifty and nimble, dancing briskly round,

And step-dance two or three times on the lion.

He lay so still the mice were not afraid,

But advanced, retired, jigged and reeled apace,

Some plucking at the whiskers of his beard,

Some bold enough to scratch him in the face,

Lightsome and blithe, the merriest of mice,

Till the noble lion woke at last and pounced

And clamped down on the one who led the dance.

She gave a cry, and the rest all cried, aghast,

And scattered and hid hurriedly wherever.

The leader in the lion's paw held fast

Laments, "Alas! Alas!" and weeps in terror.

"O, woe is me!" she wails,

"I'm a prisoner

"And must face trial now for my offence.

"My life and death hang trembling in the balance!"

The lion spoke then to that stricken mouse.

"You miserable, despicable mean thing,

"Overly familiar and presumptuous,

"Treating my person as your dancing ring:

"Do you not know I am both lord and king

"Of all the beasts?"

"Yes," said the mouse," I do,

"But you lay so quiet there, I mistook you.

"So, my lord, I beseech Your Majesty to hear me plea

"And attend in patience.

"Take good account first of my poverty

"And then consider your magnificence.

"Consider, too, how simple negligence

"A thing not done with malice or presumption

"Should sooner receive gracious remission.

"We'd had our fill, enjoyed in great abundance

"The proper dues and needs of our condition.

"The pleasant season prompted us to dance and sport ourselves

"In our own natural fashion.

"You lay so still,

"Had such a dead expression,

"We thought, by my soul, that you were dead indeed.

"Why else would we have danced upon your heid?"

"This is a false excuse," the lion said,

"And will not in the least be warned avail.

"Supposing that I had indeed been dead,

"And what you'd find was a stuffed animal,

"A straw lion, my skin alone,

"Then still you should have been in awe

"And kneeling down, because it bore the imprint of my person.

"Your crime is such you have no defence

"What you have committed is lese majeste.

"There is no case, you have no arguments to absolve yourself

"Or those accessory.

"Wherefore your disgraceful doom

"Shall be to suffer death as is decreed for treason,

"And mount the gallows struggling and squealing."

HE ROARS

"Ah, no, my lord,

"I beseech your royal grace as crowned head of the beasts

"To moderate your anger.

"Let your fit of fury pass, let mercy change your mind,

"Be temperate.

"Your honour has been injured, I admit

"And I deserve the sentence you decree,

"Unless you relent, my lord, and pardon me."

"In every judge, mercy and compassion

"Should act as learned friends and counsellors.

"Justice is cruelty when mercy's wanting

"As the highest, holiest law we know allows.

"When rigour won't relent and sits and glowers

"Who will believe the bench impartial?

"None, or very few, unless there is compassion.

"When it comes to martial honour, too,

"You know the value of a victory depends

"On the strength of the opponent.

"How fiercely he fights or manfully defends.

"What praise or honour when the battle ends

"Is due to one whose foe would not or could not

"Stand to and meet and match him in the fight

"To kill and then devour a thousand mice -

"What's manly about that in a great lion?

"The weaker the defeated is,

"The less enhanced is a strong victor's renown.

"It will demean and mar your reputation

"To kill a mouse whose one defence

"Was free reliance on your Excellency's mercy.

"Moreover, it's below Your Majesty,

"Whose diet day-by-day is so delicious,

"To soil your teeth and lips by eating me.

"My blood would turn your stomach and cause illness.

"There is infection in the meat of mice

"To which lions in particular are prone,

"Used as they are to noble venison.

"My life's of little value, my death, less.

"Yet if I live, who knows, it could happen,

"I could help your highness in a chance distress,

"For often one who seems in no condition

"To rescue some imperilled lord from prison

"Will prove to be the only one who can.

"In which case, if fortune failed, could be your own."

When this was said, the lion reconsidered.

His anger was assuaged,

He heeded reason and,

Letting mercy moderate his hard pronouncement,

Granted the mouse remission,

Opened his paw and dropped her.

She fell down,

Then reached her two hands heaven-ward and cried,

"O, mighty God reward you for this deed!"

When she was gone, the lion went to hunt,

Since he never gathered food but lived on prey,

Killing both wild and tame as was his wont,

Spreading terror over the whole country.

HE ROARS

Until at last the people found a way to trap this cruel lion.

From hemp cord, they wove strong nets

And set them in the road,

A road the lion used when he was on the prowl.

They stretched the nets across from tree to tree,

Then lined up in the wood to await the kill.

The hounds and horns create a wild melee.

Along the road the lion starts to flee,

Trips on the net,

Gets tangled head and foot,

And for all his strength and struggle can't get oot.

He turned and twisted, gave a hideous roar,

Strained, contorted,

Kicked this way and that but all to no avail.

His reign was over.

The more he turned, the tighter grew the net.

The purchase of the ropes being so complete on every part of him.

And thus forlorn, he ceased his struggle

And began to mourn:

"O crippled lion, lying here so low,

"Where is the power of your magnificence

"Of which the earth's animals all stood in awe

"And feared to look upon your countenance?

"No hope or help,

"No succour or defence are left to me

"Alas, I am tied down in sturdy bonds

"And certain to be slain.

"There's nobody to right my wrongs

"And wreak vengeance for me.

"None to respect my crown.

"Who'll help me now?

"Come to my aid and break these bonds.

"Release me from this prison."

HE ROARS

The minute he had made this lamentation,

It so happened the little mouse

Came by and overhead the lion's grievous cry.

And suddenly it came into her mind

This was the lion who had pardoned her,

Saying, "I'd be unnatural and unkind

"Not to repay in some small part

"The favour you graciously did me."

And so she called her companions loud and long,

Repeatedly, to come and help, which they did,

Immediately.

"Look," said the mouse. "This is that same lion

"Who pardoned me when I was in his power.

"Now here he lies heartbroken,

"Making moan like a prisoner tied up inside a tower.

"Unless we help he cannot hope for succour.

"But one good turn deserves another,

"So do we free him?"

"Sister," they said. "We do!"

They took no knife,

Their teeth were sharp enough.

To watch them at their work was a great wonder.

It didn't matter that the ropes were tough.

They went for them top, bottom, over, under,

Bit bindings until the net just fell asunder.

Then bade him rise.

He sprang immediately up on his feet with thanks...

And went his way.

The lion is at large now out of danger,

Loosed and delivered,

Set at liberty by little beasts possessed of little power.

Because, as you have heard,

He showed them pity.

HE ROARS

The great thing about working on this series

is that really we had a carte blanche right from the start,

so we were able to choose the animation medium

that would best suit the project.

What we decided was to use 2-D animation,

as opposed to 3-D or stop-motion.

The reason for that is because we felt that with 2-D animation

we were able to preserve the values

of the original fables that were written in medieval times.

We also wanted people to feel that

when they were watching, that each frame would look

almost as if it was lifted out of a children's book.

We wanted seven-year-olds to be able to enjoy

these fables on one level

and adults on another level.

We find that if you go for that approach,

then the production values you have of the series

are more long-lasting

and we wanted to create a series that is universal

and that could be enjoyed again in 10 or 20 years' time.

Thus, he kept that poor mouse in great dread

Until, by lucky chance, at the last call,

She slipped between the hangings and the wall.

We also wanted a slight reminiscence

of the old Walt Disney movies

which are based in the nature and countryside.

So we tried to recreate that sense

of having two-dimensional animation

but recreating a world that felt very real to the audience.

We knew that we wanted each fable to look unique

but we didn't want them to be too different from each other,

they still had to feel like part of the same fables family

The way we approached that was different, natural painting

mediums and painting techniques

and to vary those, so one, for example, was more watercolour,

one of them was oil paints, one of them was gouache-pastel

mixed media.

So we kind of felt the naturalism of those painting methods

fitted the naturalistic, organic storytelling with the fables.

The next stage, once we had done a little bit

of visual development on Five Fables,

was to present the artwork to Seamus Heaney himself, because

we didn't want to do anything which he wasn't happy with, obviously.

And he was very responsive.

He immediately loved the style, he loved what we were trying to do.

We had prepared some character designs.

I remember drawing up different versions

of the two mice from the Two Mice fable,

and he really liked the style immediately.

He loved the kind of lush and very dense and real textures,

the kind of watercolour textures that we used in some of the fables.

So, for him, it was a really easy sell.

"In that case, it's a safe house," said the younger.

One of the things we had to do at this stage was to research

anything that was unfamiliar to us.

any strange terms of slang or terminology that we didn't

quite understand.

We had to be sure what it was because we were going to visualise

this and we needed to make sure

that we understood every line.

We asked Seamus to explain a few

things, like what is a pattle?

I'd never heard of a pattle before.

What is heckling or scutching, things like that.

The farmer let out a sudden angry roar, stoned them,

threw down the pattle of the plough.

"The wolf," he yelled, "can have the lot of you!"

Obviously, we had to get it right and had to make sure that visually it was accurate.

The farmer spread and dried it, beetled the stocks to bits

and scutched and heckled all to torn plaits.

Once we knew the style we were going for, we took it to the storyboard.

Storyboard is an important part of the production,

probably the most important part.

It's really where the film of the episode is made.

It's kind of the director's secret weapon.

It's a series of comic book-esque panels in sequence

that contain all the information that you need - where the

characters are going to be, what they are going to do,

the locations, settings, compositions, things like that.

A storyboard is really the film on paper, is the best way to describe it.

And it's important later on, because all the other departments

will reference it and use it as a sort of touchstone.

The animators will look at the poses drawn on the board and they'll start

with those poses in their animation and they'll improvise from that.

The background artists will look at the layouts behind the panels

and start their backgrounds from that and work from there.

Everything in the Fables is designed.

Everything is drawn by somebody.

You know, like, the father has a bat and that needs designing.

The mouse needs a staff to walk with. That's mentioned in the text.

Somebody has to design that.

So that's why it's important at the storyboard

and design stage to make sure that nothing is left to chance.

From the storyboard we move straight onto the animatic.

The animatic is the first time you get to see

the film playing out in real time.

You film each panel that you see in a storyboard for the exact amount

of time that you will see this shot on screen once it's animated.

You put Billy Connolly's fantastic voice-over on there.

The wolf can have a lot of you!

At that point, you're thinking like an editor.

You're pacing it for gaps, for sound effects or beats here and there.

And specifically the music as well.

So that when the music is recorded later it just falls into place.

That's the theory, anyway.

"Now, there's an offer," he told Wolf, "which I consider good."

And people who work in film-making

and who do live action film-making

are always surprised at how little editing

there is to do once we've animated all our shots,

because we animate all our shots exactly to duration,

so if a shot lasts three seconds on screen,

we only animate those three seconds,

because it takes so much time to animate all these characters

meticulously, that you don't want to animate five seconds

when you're only going to use three to convey the action.

The most important thing at that stage is to make sure you're telling the story as clearly as possible,

so that when you pass it to animation it's a lot easier and more efficient.

From there, you hand the animatic over to the animators.

They have the storyboard and the notes,

whatever props they need, and they have the characters.

We had this idea to have a character who is Billy Connolly,

so we've got the long, flowing, grey curly hair

walking around in a kilt, and hopefully he'll like that, we hope.

The way we are doing the characters and the style of animation,

is designed to imitate 2-D hand-drawn animation,

but we don't draw frame by frame.

So it's done in the software, and you'll take a character

and you'll pose it, then you'll pose the character in a different pose

and the computer will create the in-betweens.

It's sort of like a puppet.

And to stop it looking stiff you have to apply principles of animation

and things like that and you switch out assets.

The animators will have a huge asset library of hands and arms

and expressions and things like that, to be able to switch those out

and really bring the characters to life.

Just getting a performance is really the art of it.

The illusion of life and bringing the character to life

and make it convincing - there's a real knack to that.

There are little 3-D elements.

If you watch closely there are 3-D elements in there,

like the mice running on the candle, that was actually 3-D.

There's a couple of little bits sprinkled throughout.

A cheese!

We wanted to add a graphic approach,

so we put some floating typography in, and that sort of lifted it

and made it something more than just an animated cartoon or whatever.

It just put a bit of a new slant on it to work the text into the images.

Beetled the stocks to bits

and scutched and heckled all to torn plaits.

One of the nice things is to see it all come together.

So the animators have worked on their scenes

and it comes through on a daily basis.

And just to see it all fit together - the final backgrounds go in

and the effects and the lighting and things like that.

It's really satisfying to see all the hard work

and to get to watch it.

I feel really privileged to get a chance to work with Seamus.

He had a lot of suggestions and good ideas

and it was great to pick his brain about

how he visualised the characters and things like that only on,

which kind of informed us when we came to design the characters.

As a team in the studio we always felt that he was very

close to the project.

We may not have seen him a lot but he was so supportive

and, you know, he was always there, you know, in the background.

And we were so looking forward to showing the final series to him.

I just hope that he would be proud

and appreciative of the work that went into the fables.