Opens the sluggard run, Proverbs 26:13–16, four verses. The cluster is thematic; each verse stands alone.
Quick answer
He has a reason and it is a big one. The verse lets him say it out loud so the reader can hear how impressive the excuse is.
Read both lines
The saying is comedy and it works by letting him speak. Two lines, two lions, escalating: a lion in the road, then a fierce lion in the open squares. He is not mumbling an excuse, he is issuing a public safety announcement.
What makes it funny is that lions were real. The excuse is not absurd, it is merely unfalsifiable, and that is the observation: the sluggard's obstacle is always the kind nobody can check. The book made the same joke at 22:13. Notice the verse never says he is lying, which is sharper than saying it, because he may well believe it.
Related: Proverbs 22:13 · Proverbs 26:16 · Proverbs 20:4
New King James Version®, Copyright © 1982, Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. Full copyright information. Scripture provided by API.Bible.
Go Deeper
If this verse has been used to put weight on you that it was never carrying, ask about it directly.