“That lion is dying,” Kakoma said.
“That is good news,” said Wana.
“No, it’s not a good thing,” Kakoma added.
“Imagine, a world without lions,” Wana said, “it will be a peaceful world.”
The two porcupines were talking under the Mubanga tree. It was one of the hottest seasons they had ever experienced. It had not rained for three years. Most of the rivers had run dry. There was no water in most parts of the African Savannah. Trees and grass had dried up. The drought was harsh and long. There was no food in the land. Most animals were starving to death. Without food, a number of animals died including lions.
There was only one lion remaining in all the land. It too was very hungry. The lion had not eaten for days and was very weak. The hungry lion was dying. He was too weak to hunt. He could not even run because he did not have the energy. One more day without food, he will be dead.
Before the drought came, the lion used to be very rude to other animals. He used to hunt for fun and not for food. He did not care about other animals. He was a very selfish animal. His mother used to tell him to be kind to others, but he used to laugh at her.
“Ha, ha, ha being kind is for the weak,” he would say.
“Be kind to others,” his mother would say, “one day you will need help from the weak ones.”
“Ha, ha, ha! Never! I can’t ask for help from anyone.”
The porcupines standing at a distance felt sorry for him. He was too weak. He was failing to sit up straight. He had not eaten for days. He was very hungry.
“Let’s help him,” suggested Kakoma.
“Are you mad?” Asked Wana, “Don’t you remember how rude that lion was to us?”
“Yes, but that is in the past,” Kakoma said.
“Do you remember that he is the one who killed our uncle?” Wana asked.
“Yes, but…..”
“But what,” cut in Wana, “what goes round will always come round.”
“Yes, I know,” Kakoma responded, “but we Africans do not repay evil with evil.”
“Kakoma, are you mad?”
“No, we do not rejoice in the suffering of another animal even if he did wrong to us.”
“I agree with you Kakoma,” said Womba as she joined the two porcupines, “we need to help that hungry lion.”
“Let him die,” Wana protested, “we will be safe without any lions.”
“No Wana,” Womba said, “We need to save that lion from going extinct.”
“Extinct, what do you mean?”
“Extinct meaning nonexistent,” Wana said, “lions might become extinct just like the dinosaurs.”
“Oh, dinosaurs,”
“Would you want all lions to go into extinction and our children will only hear about them?”
“I guess not,” Wana said, “I see.”
“Yes, we need to save that lion,” Kakoma added, “it’s called conservation.”
“You mean we need to save that lion by sacrificing one of us?”
“No, that lion just needs proteins,” Womba said, “we just need to give him some proteins not necessarily meat.”
“Oh, I see,” Wana said, “but what type of food are we going to prepare for him?”
The three friends went off to prepare some food stuffs. They prepared food with more proteins and carbohydrates for the hungry lion. They prepared soya sausages, beef soup and maize meal. After they finished preparing, they then went to see the hungry lion.
“Now, who is going to give him the food?” Wana asked.
“We will go together,” suggested Womba.
“I am scared of those teeth,” Wana stated.
“Don’t worry,” Kakoma said, “we have our quills to protect ourselves.”
The three friends took the food to the hungry lion. He was surprised that the animals he used to bully were the ones coming to help him. He ate the sausage and felt better. Once he was done, he said to the three friends.
“Thank you very much,” he said, “You are truly my brothers and sisters.”
From then onwards, the lion became kind to other animals. He stopped bullying others.
Read – The Hyena’s Pinyota – A Children’s Story by Clifford Ochieng, Kenya
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