Paul and the Lion

A truly bizarre tale told about Paul is from the appendix to the apocryphal Acts of Paul. A lion crosses Paul's path one day and lays down at the apostle's feet. Paul asks the lion, "What do you want." And the lion answers, "I want to be baptized!" Paul praises God for giving the lion a voice. He then takes the beast down to a nearby river and plunges him under the water three times in the name of Jesus. Upon coming out of the water the lion shakes the water out of his mane, turns to Paul and says, "Grace be with you!" Paul replied, "And also with you!" With that, the lion runs off into the countryside rejoicing. More bizarre still is the conclusion of the story. As the lion ambled away, a lioness met him, but he would not mate with her because he had been baptized!