A lion was just going to devour a hare which he had found asleep, when he saw a deer go by.
So he left the hare to pursue the deer, and the hare, awakened by the noise, ran away.
After a long chase the lion found he could not catch the deer, and when he went back to get the hare he found that it too had taken to flight.
"It serves me right," he said, "for letting go the food I had in my grasp, in the hope of getting something better."
Men are sometimes like this lion. Instead of being content with a moderate gain, they are attracted by some more alluring prospect--and are surprised to find that they lose even what they could have been sure of having.