Androcles, the Roman slave, removing the thorn from the lion's paw. From the painting by Briton Riviere. Androcles, is the main character of a common folktale about a man befriending a lion. The tale is included in the Aarne–Thompson classification system as type 156. The story reappeared in the Middle Ages as "The Shepherd and the Lion" and was then ascribed to Aesop's Fables.