Shivratri Stories - Lubdhak:

Once lived a tribal named Lubdhak.

Lubdhak was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva. He embrassed Shiva every day with by offering milk and bel leaves. He adored the shivalinga with chandan and flowers and chanted mantras in his name. 

Lubdhak lived by selling firwood. He went to the forest everyday for collecting firewood and sold it in the evening. One day he went deeper into the forest. He lost his way and soon it became dark. It was a thick and dark forest. The moon was in waxing phase and appeared as a thin crescent in the far sky. 

Lubdhak sat to rest  against bark of a thick tree. He soon woke up hearing a terrifying roar of a lion. The sound echoed across the woods and it was apparent that the lion was nearing him with his smell. Labdhuk knew he could outrun the lion, so he climbed a bhel tree immediately. To keep himself awake, he started plucking bel leaves and dropped them down, while reciting the name of Shiva. The tiger disappeared in the wild.

When the day came, Lubdhak came down the tree and saw a beautiful mystical shivling under the tree. In fact, he had been dropping the bhel leaves on shivling unknowlingly. Lubdhak felt blissful to have served Shiva unknowingly.  

This is said to have happened on the fourteenth day of waxing moon during the month of Phalgun, when Mahashivratri is celebrated.