Androcles

Androcles is a famous character in a Greek story by Aulus Gellius (2nd Century AD). He was a runaway slave who had fled into the forest. As he was wandering around he found a lion moaning. He approached the lion and extracted the thorn from its paw. Later, the lion and Androcles were captured. As a punishment Androcles was thrown to the lion in the arena. When he faced the lion, it immediately recognized him as his benefactor who had once extracted a thorn from its paw. The lion refrained from attacking him.