Mufasa and Scar: The Broken Legacy
Disclaimer
This work is based on Walt Disney’s film “The Lion King”, so, elements and characters taken from this movie are property of Walt Disney.
Only a few months ago, I discovered the joy of writing. Another thing I should thank “The Lion King” for. It has been an inspiration for me, a helping hand that guided me through my writing.
About the character’s names : I didn’t have access to Internet when I started writing, so, I wasn’t able to find information about canon names and such. Therefore, some of the character’s names are different. The names that have changed are :
Ahadi.- In my story, the name of Mufasa’s and Scar’s father is Thembi.
Taka.- In my story, Scar’s real name is Hatari. Why Hatari ? Read the story and find out !
About the story : Many questions have surged regarding Scar’s obscure past. We do not know for certain if Scar was born mean, or if he was treated badly by life, but what do we know is that he killed his brother. The reason ? Some say he was hungry for the throne and nothing else. Others say he was jealous of his brother’s good luck in being born first.
I say he lived a hard life, and he didn’t truly cared for the throne, but he desired to posses it in order to keep a promise he had made to his father and to himself when he was young.
The object of this story is to try to find an explanation (it is not a justification) for Scar’s actions, specially regarding Mufasa’s death. I must point out that I am not justifying what he did, the difference lies in the fact that I try to understand him, and not to judge him. In my opinion, we can’t just say “He is bad and cruel” when we don’t know what was behind his actions and what were the circumstances that led him to do it.
Well, yes, I am a Scar Fan, and I am proud to say it ! But, if you aren’t one, still you might like to read this story, since you’ll be able to read about how Timon got to be an outcast and how he met Pumbaa. You’ll also get to know why Ed is less intelligent than Shenzi and Banzai…
Please have in mind that I am not a native English speaker. (I’m from Mexico and we speak Spanish here) It was difficult sometimes for me to express what I wanted to say in another language, so, I am sorry for any grammatical mistakes you might find in my story. I tried to do my best.
I want to thank several people:
My father, for accepting my Lion King addiction, for his help and support when writing this story, and for not getting mad at me when I call him Mufasa in front of other people…
My English Teacher Tere Moguel, for encouraging me to keep writing and for revising some of my earliest works. She is a great person who always has time for her students.
My mother, just because of the fact that she is my mother and I feel very lucky about it.
My brother, for lending me a PC in which I could write my stories, and for trying to make me see that all this Lion King addiction is silly and nonsense. It only makes my love for The Lion King deeper and stronger.
Ivan Trotter, for lending me his Motorola modem for almost 6 months and letting me join the wonderful world of Internet and IRC, in which I met my best friends.
David Morris and John Burkitt, for all their support and encouragement. For teaching me lots of things through their fan fiction. For being my friends.
Mike, Amy, Margaret, Jarrod and other Scar Fans I might have missed, thanks for being so understanding with Scar.
Phew ! Are you still reading this??? Well, if you have made it up to here, great ! Thanks for reading ! I only want to add something:
I dedicate this work to a very special person who gave me courage and helped me get out of the big, empty, cold cage I was trapped in, lacking of faith, depressed and lonely. You know who you are.
Well, I hope you enjoy reading “Mufasa and Scar : The Broken Legacy” as much as I enjoyed writing it. Comments welcome at caniche@geocities.com
Mufasa and Scar: The Broken Legacy
It was almost sunset. The heat decreased little by little as the sun hid behind the horizon. The intense blue of the sky started turning violet with the arrival of the night, and the shadows began falling slowly over the great African Savannah, a wonderful place in which life and death make their apparition at every moment, a place where you must fight arduously in order to survive, and where you must faithfully obey, without distinction, the Laws of the Great Circle of Life.
This beautiful place was divided in a great number of territories, invisible to human sight, but easily identifiable by the animals living in it. The lands that belonged to the prides of lions were the most spectacular ones; they were, generally, near a water hole, which helped refresh the lions every time they wanted to, besides, their territories were big and spacious, covered by a soft rug made of green grass. It didn’t always remain like that, but the grass never failed in regaining its splendor as soon as the rains arrived. Among all the prides that lived in the Savannah, there was one which turned out to be more special than the rest because of all the things that occurred inside it, some, good things, some, bad things, but all of them marked the history of new generations of animals that were still about to come.
This pride was a healthy, strong and powerful one. Their territory spanned a great extension of the Savannah, it was so big that the members of it called its kingdom by the phrase of “Everything the light touches.” These lands had belonged to countless generations of lions. One of these generations decided to call their kingdom by the name of “Pride Lands”, it seemed that this name was of the lions’ taste and it lasted while time passed. In the middle of the Pride Lands, there was an imposing rock standing, which contained in its base a small cave which the lions used to protect themselves from the rain and the sun. The lions called that rock “Pride Rock”. The enormous stone was exceedingly beautiful and majestic, worthy of being occupied by the Lion King of Pride Lands and his pride; it had a great promontory which allowed the lions to observe a wide part of their territory. On the peak of Pride Rock, to which the lions could climb up to without difficulty, the whole kingdom could be appreciated, also part of its boundaries, the elephant graveyard at the Northern border. Pride Rock was no ordinary stone. It had seen the birth and death of many lions, it had lived and shared with them their triumphs and misadventures, their happiness and their sadness. Now, it was about to witness, once again, the miracle of life, but at the same time, the tragedy and pain of death.
The stars were already visible, and one lion, sitting at Pride Rock’s promontory, was looking at them intently. At the lion’s side, there was a completely grown baboon, who was also looking at the sky, expectantly. Both seemed to be waiting for a very important happening, and remained silent. The silence was broken by the baboon after a few seconds.
“I can see you’re very thoughtful… Is something worrying you?”, he asked.
The lion nodded as if to say no. “No, Rafiki, it’s just… I’m a little nervous because of the birth of my son, or daughter…”, the lion said, sighing at the end of his phrase.
The baboon smiled slightly. “Or sons…”, he added, making a strong emphasis on the plural.
The Lion King returned a nervous smile. Rafiki, the baboon, gave a soft pat on the lion’s back, trying to make him feel that he counted with the baboon’s own support.
“Everything is going to be fine, Thembi. The Prince will be born today, that’s for sure.”, Rafiki said.
Thembi smiled again. “I hope there won’t be any complications at all…”, he said, and then remained silent, allowing himself to absorb in the beauty of his kingdom.
Rafiki looked at the lion lovingly, thinking that maybe his sons would look just like him. He was looking very carefully at Thembi, who was so worried that didn’t notice he was being observed by the baboon.
Yes, Rafiki was, indeed, admiring the king’s features. He was big and brawny, his fur was darker than the fur of the rest of the lionesses of his pride. His mane was totally black, without a trace of blonde. His eyes were brown, just like his father’s. Thembi always had a severe expression in his face because he was a very serious lion. He had a very unstable temper, and he also used to be very spiteful and stubborn; once he took a decision, nothing on earth could make him change his mind. At the same time that Rafiki was looking at Thembi, the silence was broken when a lioness came walking out of the cave with a very big smile on her face.
“Thembi…”, she called, getting the Lion King’s attention.
He turned his head rapidly in order to face the lioness, and when he saw her broad smile, Thembi stood up and walked until he got to her side.
“Karanga, tell me, was it a male or a female?”, the lion asked, full of enthusiasm.
“It was a beautiful male lion!”, she answered.
Her radiant face helped calm Thembi. The lion started walking; he was heading for the cave’s entrance when, suddenly, he heard a cry that came from the inside.
“Oh, no! NO!”, was the exclamation of one of the lionesses from inside the cavern.
Thembi was startled, and also was the lioness standing by his side.
“Karanga, come quickly!”, a lioness called.
Karanga, fearing that something terrible was happening, looked at Thembi saying:
“Wait, don’t go inside for now, I’ll tell you when it is the proper time; maybe another cub is coming…”
Thembi didn’t say a word and he just stood there, observing how Karanga entered the cave again. Rafiki approached him, looking confused.
“What’s wrong?”, the baboon asked.
Thembi sighed deeply. “That’s the same thing I’d like to know.”, the lion replied, suffering greatly because of the uncertainty, not knowing what was happening to his wife or son. They kept waiting in silence for a few more minutes.
Inside the cave, the beautiful lioness Kitok was lying motionless on the floor. Her eyes were closed. Her face was pale and her expression was a painful one. The rest of the lionesses stared sadly at her. At Kitok’s side, there were two small cubs that tried to look for the warmth and caressing of their mother, finding neither of them. Karanga approached the smaller one and cleaned it with her tongue, because its mother didn’t have enough time to do it.
“Poor things!”, Sita exclaimed with cracking voice.
Some lionesses nodded. One of them took the word.
“Who’s going to tell Thembi?”, Anasa asked.
The lionesses looked at each other, without daring to communicate the sad news to the King. Karanga looked at her pride-mates for an instant, and sighed.
“I’ll do it.”, she said after a few seconds.
“Oh, Karanga… thank you. You have always been so strong for these things, I could never do it…”, Kuuliza said as she nuzzled Karanga lovingly.
She half-smiled in a sadly way, and, leaving the cub by Kitok’s side, Karanga left the cave, walking heavily, with head down and ears flattened. She walked across Thembi, who was waiting, impatiently, to know what had happened. Seeing that this time sadness was reflecting in Karanga?s face, Thembi felt a chill going all over his body, causing the fur on his back to bristle.
“What has happened, Karanga?”, the lion asked, trying to keep his composure.
She cleared her throat. “Actually, another cub was born, another male.”, Karanga replied, sighing at the end of her phrase.
Thembi tried to look in her eyes, but she looked away quickly, avoiding visual contact and trying to hide from Thembi the tears that were starting to appear in her eyes. The lion’s curiosity aroused.
“And… By chance… The second cub isn’t alive? Did he die when he was born?”, Thembi asked, wishing to obtain a negative reply.
Karanga nodded as if to say no. “He lives.”, the lioness answered as she felt her eyes mist up with her own tears.
Thembi breathed a sigh of relief. But… if his two sons were alive, then…
“Then why you look so worried, Karanga?”, the Lion King asked, becoming alarmed all of a sudden.
Karanga raised her eyes and looked at Thembi for an instant. Looking at the ground again, she said: “It’s… it’s Kitok…”
Thembi felt startled when he heard that. “What has happened to my wife?”, he asked, realizing, due to Karanga’s painful expression, that the answer was more than obvious.
Karanga took the word again. “She…”, she started, but all of a sudden, she broke down.
“Oh, Thembi!”
“What’s going on?!”, he demanded desperately.
Then, Karanga spoke. “Kitok died when the second cub was born! She saved the baby’s life, but now she’s gone!”, she said between sobs.
Thembi felt as if Pride Rock had fallen over him.
“My wife!”, the lion exclaimed, without even moving, not believing what his ears had just heard.
Without caring that he had to wait until the cubs were totally clean, Thembi entered the cave hastily, finding Kitok, lifeless. There she was. Her wife, companion, friend, the Queen of the Pride Lands. Thembi approached her, slowly, crying uncontrollably.
“Kitok…”, he said, his deep voice cracking, “I couldn’t even say good bye… I couldn’t listen to your beautiful voice for the last time…”, the lion continued, sobbing repeatedly.
He rubbed his muzzle against Kitok’s, wetting it with his own tears. He continued grieving his sorrow while the rest of the lionesses walked dissemblingly out of the cave, in order to leave the King alone with his grief. However, there was one lioness who knew that leaving the cubs alone might be dangerous for them; Thembi was obfuscated, and he could commit an action of which he might repent later, but it wouldn’t be fixed, so, Karanga, fearing for the safety of the two little lions, approached Kitok’s body and grabbed the bigger cub with her mouth. The lion King looked at her in awe.
“Leave him there!”, Thembi ordered, still looking at Karanga in a distrustful way.
She let go the cub smoothly, but was determined to not let him intimidate her.
“What are you going to do?”, the lioness asked, leaving aside, for a moment, the deep sadness she felt knowing that her best friend had just died.
Thembi dropped his gaze, only to lay it down on the two cubs. He could easily identify the one that had been born first, being completely clean, whereas the one that had been born after, still had some spots to be cleaned.
“That one,”, Thembi said pointing with his paw at the second cub and looking at him pejoratively, “that’s the one you can take away. I don’t want to see him. Get him out of here, now!”, the lion ordered.
Karanga’s eyes opened wide.
“But… Thembi! He’s your son—”
“No, he isn’t!”, Thembi interrupted Karanga. “That cub is responsible for Kitok’s pass away. Take him away! Take him far away! If he ever stands in my way then—”
“Stop it!”, the lioness shouted, looking straight at Thembi.
Both lions remained silent. Lowering the tone of her voice, Karanga continued.
“You can’t talk like that about your own son!”
Thembi sighed, and looked at the two cubs. He approached them. Karanga felt the fur on her back bristling, fearing that Thembi would make a terrible mistake.
“Thembi, what are you going to do?”, she asked fearfully.
The lion stood in front of his two sons and looked at them carefully. Both were beautiful, but they were starting to feel the lack of motherly warmth, and, therefore, food, so they whined constantly. Thembi tilted his head as he listened to the sounds his sons were making. Shedding a tear, the lion said:
“It’s a pity you never got to know your mother…”
Karanga listened, paying attention to Thembi’s words, realizing that the lion’s posture was not threatening, and it seemed he wouldn’t hurt his second son. Suddenly, Thembi’s sad expression changed into a more severe one when he fixed his gaze on the smaller cub. Karanga became alarmed again. Thembi started talking to the small lion that cried and pleaded for something to eat.
“Don’t cry!”, Thembi said through clenched teeth. “This is all your fault!”, the lion added coldly.
Karanga approached the cubs again and without caring about what Thembi might think, she took the smaller cub with her mouth, walked back a few steps, put the cub back on the ground and protected him with her own paws.
“I won’t let you harm him!”, Karanga exclaimed, growling softly.
Thembi looked at her and half-smiled. “That’s it. Take him away from my sight. Do whatever you want with him. I’ve already got my son.”, the lion replied as he turned his back on the lioness and patted lovingly the head of the bigger cub.
Karanga couldn’t help but gasp as she met with Thembi’s lack of sensitivity towards his smaller son. The lioness just watched as Thembi lied down for the last time at Kitok’s side, and hugged the other cub to give him a little warmth.
“Kitok…”, Thembi said, completely forgetting about the presence of Karanga and the smaller cub, “My love, my life, I know I will miss you so much! But I’m going to make the responsible of your death pay for his guilt!”, he said, hugging the bigger cub protectively, and looked pejoratively at the second one, still hidden between Karanga’s legs. She was looking at him, awed. Thembi frowned.
“You’re still there? I told you to take that one away! Do it!”, the bad-tempered lion said growling.
Karanga froze for an instant. This was something she had never expected to happen. She knew Thembi was highly agitated because of Kitok’s sudden death, so she came to the conclusion that Thembi wasn’t even thinking what he was saying. This excuse was a relief for her.
“Surely, once he calms down, he will think carefully about what had happened and will realize that the second cub isn’t guilty for Kitok’s death…”, she thought.
Carefully, she grabbed the little cub with her mouth and walked out of the cave quickly. Thembi saw her leave. He sighed, and let his head rest on his paws as he closed his eyes. Several tears ran through his cheeks as he recalled the time he and Kitok had spent together.
Outside the cave, Karanga was approached by the rest of the lionesses. Rafiki also approached her, and looked at the new born cub.
“What happened?”, the baboon asked.
“Haven’t they told you so?”, Karanga asked as she left the cub on the ground and felt a knot starting to form on her throat.
“They’ve informed me of Kitok’s death, but… what are you doing with this cub? Haven’t two cubs been born?”, Rafiki replied, looking lovingly at the baby.
Karanga nodded. “The other one’s inside…” She took a deep breath. “Thembi has decided he won’t recognize this cub as his son.”
The phrase provoked several comments among the lionesses, but it seemed Rafiki was the most impressed of all.
“Is it possible that the King said such a thing?”, Rafiki asked astonished.
Karanga nodded again. Sita couldn’t also believe what she had just heard.
“But what are we going to do with this cub then? He will be in constant danger!”, she exclaimed, knowing very well what happened to cubs who met with lions who didn’t accept them. And seeing how Thembi denied any kind of relationship…
“Oh, by all stars, we gotta do something!”, Kuuliza added.
Rafiki was about to say something when, all of a sudden, Thembi came out the cave hastily and walked to where the pride and Rafiki were together.
“Rafiki, my son needs food, and it has to be right now! He’s crying a lot and I know that none of the lionesses in this pride are in condition to feed him…”, Thembi said in a pleading tone, but Rafiki’s expression was severe.
“And you haven’t heard this one crying, have you? He’s even hungrier than the first one.”, Rafiki said looking at the second cub.
Thembi looked away. He didn’t feel in the mood for discussing that point at the moment, so he kept pleading.
“Rafiki, please, I need you to find someone able to feed my son… Please, it’s the only thing left from my Kitok…”
Rafiki frowned. He realized perfectly that Thembi was speaking as if he only had one son, but he came with an idea that might just work.
“All right, Thembi, I’ll look for someone to feed your son, but, on condition that…”
Thembi was amazed seeing how a simple, but wise baboon was conditioning him.
Knowing that Rafiki had now control over him, the haughty lion replied, “All right, I’ll do whatever you tell me.”
Rafiki smiled. “You will allow this cub also to feed from the lioness that will come to save their life.”, Rafiki said, referring to the smaller cub.
Thembi sighed deeply. He remained silent for a moment, then, turning around, he said, “All right, then so be it. But, please, Rafiki, hurry up. My son needs food as soon as possible…”
Rafiki nodded “I’ll do my best, Thembi. I’ll look for a substitute mother for your sons, and, perhaps, we will celebrate the Queen’s funeral at dawn…”
Thembi looked at him over his shoulder. “That’s right, I was almost forgetting about the funeral…”, the lion said as the tears filled his eyes once more.
He entered the cave slowly, as the pride made comments on what had just happened.
“I think he is acting in a very selfish way!”, Karanga said, licking the cub lovingly.
“If only I could feed him…”, the lioness thought, but, knowing it was impossible for her to do so, she offered willingly to help Rafiki with the search for someone able to do it.
Rafiki smiled at the lioness’s offer. “Thank you, Karanga, but it won’t be necessary. I know about someone who could help us; a lioness has given birth to her cubs not far from here.”
The lionesses cheered up with that reply and some of them sighed in relief.
Rafiki grabbed his staff and started walking, looking for the lioness he had just talked about a few seconds ago.
As he walked away, he shouted to the lionesses: “Try to keep the cubs warm!”
“Yes, Rafiki!”, they answered in unison as they watched the baboon disappear in the distance.
“Thembi’s attitude is really worrying me.”, Karanga said after a few minutes.
The rest of the pride remained silent for a brief instant.
“Can you let me clean him?”, Kuuliza asked Karanga, who licked repeatedly the cub’s head.
“Of course.”, Karanga said as she ceded the turn to her pride-mate.
While the rest of the lionesses also waited for their turn, some of them were shedding new tears for the queen that had just left. It meant one lioness less for Thembi’s pride, which wasn’t too big at all. By the moment, the lionesses left were Karanga, Kuuliza, Anasa, Huria and Sita. An now that Kitok had died, Thembi would have to choose another lioness as queen, which would be the adoptive mother of the Prince and his brother. This thought seemed to cross Anasa’s mind and she started making comments to her pride-mates.
“I wonder who will be the new queen…”
The lionesses looked at each other, and after a while, all the looks were fixed upon Karanga. She noticed this.
“No… Don’t look at me…”, she said, stuttering a little.
“It is obvious he will choose you as his wife”, Anasa said, knowing that Karanga’s rank and courage allowed her to be the new queen.
Karanga looked at the ground, confused.
“Wouldn’t you like to be the new Queen of the Pride Lands?”, Sita asked with a tone of awe in her voice.
“Me? Never!”, Karanga replied as her voice cracked. She started to cry.
Kuuliza seemed a little confused by the lioness’s attitude and pricked her hears with curiosity.
“But—”, Anasa started to say, but was interrupted by Karanga.
“I could never take the place of my best friend… I couldn’t do that to her…”, the lioness said, sobbing uncontrollably.
Kuuliza stood up. “Here, you clean the cub now.”, she told Anasa and put the cub between the paws of her friend.
Then, Kuuliza walked to Karanga’s side and whispered at her ear: “Come, let’s talk.”
Karanga staggered to her feet and walked away several steps so they could talk freely, leaving the rest of the lionesses full of curiosity.
Kuuliza took the word. “What’s going on, Karanga?”
She couldn’t stop crying.
Kuuliza waited a few minutes for her pride-mate to calm down.
When Karanga stopped weeping, Kuuliza helped her dry the tears with her own tongue.
“Cry no more, my daughter.”
“Mom… I can’t help it…”, Karanga replied as she accepted her mother’s caressing.
“Now,”, Kuuliza said as she sat in front of Karanga, “you wanna tell your mother what’s going on inside that little head?”
Karanga sat down too, and sighed deeply. With some difficulty, she started talking.
“I— I can’t take Kitok’s place, I can’t!”, the lioness said, looking at her mother’s eyes.
Without looking away, Kuuliza answered: “What’s stopping you? You know that, unfortunately, the Queen is dead.”
Karanga looked away, still listening to her mother.
“Now you can get what you’ve wanted the most, daughter. I know how much you’ve wished to be the queen and be at Thembi’s side—”
“Shut up! Shut up, please!”, Karanga said, covering her ears with her paws and throwing herself to the ground with a loud thump.
Kuuliza looked at her understandingly.
“My girl, you have always loved Thembi, now it could be your chance—”
“Mom! I feel as if I were betraying Kitok’s memory!”, Karanga said as she raised her look once more.
Kuuliza nodded as if to say no, but Karanga continued:
“You know how much she trusted me, mom. She told me everything! She loved Thembi as much as I did, and he… he gave his love to her.”, she said hiding in a very poor way the sadness she felt as she pronounced those words.
Taking a breath, Karanga continued talking.
“I don’t want to take advantage of this situation just to be by the side of the lion I love… Kitok deserves respect, and, even though she died, that doesn’t give me the right to take what belonged to her—”
“Daughter,”, her mother interrupted.
Karanga kept silence.
“One way or another, Thembi will have to choose a new queen.”
Looking at her daughter’s eyes once more, Kuuliza continued: “If he chooses you… What are you going to do? Will you turn him down?”
Karanga pressed her eyes shut, breaking the visual contact with her mother, the only lioness that could stand her look.
“Then…”, Karanga said. She sighed deeply and finished her sentence. “Then I will be his queen, and I’ll take care of the cubs.”, Karanga said, looking sadly at the ground.
Kuuliza looked at her fixedly. “You still love him don’t you?”, she asked.
Karanga nodded. “More than life itself.”, But, looking fixedly at the cavern’s entrance, the young lioness added: “Mom, I found very strange the attitude Thembi had with the smaller cub… “
“I think we ALL found it strange, girl, but maybe you could persuade him to accept the cub…” Kuuliza said as she rubbed her head against Karanga’s neck.
“Mom, I love you.”, Karanga replied as both lionesses purred slightly.
Then, Karanga noticed the moon was almost over them, and she thought that the cubs would be exceedingly hungry.
“I wonder if Rafiki could find the lioness he was talking about…”
Kuuliza shrugged, and started walking silently to where the rest of the rest of the pride kept the second cub warm. Karanga followed her, lost in her thoughts. When she walked in front of the entrance of the cavern, she couldn’t help but look at its interior. She descried Thembi snuggled beside Kitok’s body, while the cub, protected from cold by his father’s mane, slept, but the hunger the little animal was feeling was visible, because he moved constantly and whined raucously.
“I hope Rafiki returns soon…”, Karanga thought, and feeling more calm, she sat beside her pride-mates, who didn’t make any comment on who would be the new Queen of the Pride Lands.
The second cub wasn’t asleep, and rolled over uneasily looking for food, which no lioness could offer to him.
Rafiki panted strongly as he walked among the tall grasses. It seemed that the lioness that had just given birth had changed from hiding place in order to protect her defenseless cubs. Without wanting it, Rafiki couldn’t help but sitting down to rest. He had been running mostly during his distant search, and without having found the lioness, he continued looking eagerly for her, but it seemed it was useless. He felt an enormous sadness when he thought that Thembi’s cubs would die if he didn’t find someone able to feed them, when, all of a sudden, he heard a slight noise. Rafiki stood up quickly and looked in all directions. He noticed that something was moving between the tall grasses. Cautiously, Rafiki approached to inspect and see what was hidden. He listened as the animal talked to something or someone, unable to understand what it was saying, therefore, Rafiki kept approaching, until he was able to understand some of the words.
“I know you are hidden here, you won’t be able to escape— there… that’s it… Mmmhhh. Delicious!”
Rafiki, with aroused curiosity, couldn’t help but approaching a little more. The animal, that turned out to be a bird, was looking for food, but he was startled in surprise when he saw someone coming near him. He made a shrieking noise and tried to fly, however, Rafiki hit him with his wooden staff, right in the head, blocking the bird’s escape way.
“Don’t harm me!”, the stunned bird pleaded.
Rafiki, looking carefully at the stranger, smiled, gravely. “Well, you’re a bird ! Perhaps you could help me…”, the baboon said as he scratched his beard, thoughtfully.
The bird, rubbing his head with one of his wings, looked at Rafiki, and noticing his aggressor was a baboon, he became a little more alarmed, but he remained in his place, not wanting another knock on the head again.
“Help?”, the bird asked, sounding confused.
“Yes.”, Rafiki insisted, and added, “Could you, being able to fly, help me find a lioness that has just given birth? It is very urgent, since the sons of the King are in danger.”
“The cubs have been born?”, the bird asked enthusiastically.
Rafiki nodded. “But it is necessary we find this lioness I am talking about, because… the Queen has died, and, therefore, there’s no one to feed the future king and his younger brother.”
The bird’s happiness disappeared completely. “The Queen is dead? Oh, by all stars…”, he exclaimed looking fixedly and sadly at Rafiki.
The baboon, noticing that the bird, which turned out to be a hornbill, was very young, thought that he wouldn’t be too much help, however, he was willing to offer the necessary service in order to save the lives of the King’s and Queen’s sons.
“Of course I’ll help to find that lioness, I’ll do it immediately.”
“Thank you! The King will reward you for your help!”, Rafiki exclaimed at the same time the bird took off and disappeared quickly.
Rafiki continued with his search, praying to the kings of the past so they would give strength to the cubs and help them to survive until he finds the one who would feed them. After several minutes, the bird came back.
“Hey, you…”, the bird called the baboon, still in midair. Rafiki raised his sight.
“Tell me, have you seen her?”, he asked hopefully.
“Yes, she’s nearby, that way.”, the bird said, pointing with one wing at the direction where the lioness was.
“Great !”, the baboon said, sighing in relief. “Could you guide me ? “, Rafiki asked as he grabbed his staff firmly.
“Yes, of course.”, the bird replied, and both animals went towards the new hiding place of the lioness as fast as they could.
As they approached, Rafiki was able to listen to low whines that came from the lioness’ cubs, and to her strong purrs, trying to comfort them. The baboon approached cautiously. He descried the lioness hiding between the tall yellow grass. She was cleaning one of her cubs carefully, while the others ate. There were three babies in total. It would be a hard job for the lioness to feed so many cubs, her own and Thembi’s, but Rafiki was hoping she would accept his petition. Approaching little by little, Rafiki stepped, without noticing, on a small twig and it broke noisily. The lioness stood up, alarmed, and looked everywhere insistently, trying to listen to another sound or to get some scent that told her what kind of animal was nearby. She managed to make out the slim figure of Rafiki, who was watching her fixedly.
Rafiki, knowing that the lioness was already aware of his presence, approached a few steps saying: “Please, I come in the name of King Thembi to ask you an enormous favor. Don’t hurt me, because I won’t harm nor you nor your children.”
The lioness pricked her ears with curiosity, and felt interested when she heard the word King.
“Come nearer, I want to see you.”, she said as she hugged her small sons protectively.
Rafiki obeyed and walked to the lioness, while the bird waited impatiently to hear the mother’s answer.
Once he was in front of the lioness, Rafiki addressed her politely. “My name is Rafiki, and I’ve come here searching for you, because we need you to do us a favor.”, he said.
She tilted her head slightly. “A favor? What kind of favor?”
Rafiki stared at her. “The future king has been born, but he is dying from hunger, the same with his brother. There’s no lioness in condition of feeding them, that’s why I’ve been looking for you. I wanted to ask you to feed King Thembi’s sons until they are out of danger.”, Rafiki said, hoping to get an affirmative answer.
The lioness seemed to have found that a little strange.
“King Thembi?”, she asked.
Rafiki nodded.
She looked at her cubs for an instant. “I am not from this place, my pride is waiting for me… I only came here to give birth to my sons, I don’t even know King Thembi…”, she said with visible indecision.
Rafiki approached a little bit more, until he was able to feel the breath of the lioness in his face.
“Please… those cubs are the only thing that remains of Kitok, the Queen, and if they die… Thembi would suffer greatly… Please, the cubs need food now…”, the baboon pleaded.
The maternal instincts of the lioness were screaming at her what she had to do, and, after meditating for several minutes, she decided she would help the cubs of the King of that region.
“OK, I’ll help them. It would be very sad if they died…”
Rafiki felt so happy that he was about to kiss the lioness on the cheek, but he stopped in time.
“Thank you so much ! You have a kind heart !”, he said, placing his hand on the lioness’ head and rubbing it softly.
Then, carrying two of the cubs, one under each arm, he told the lioness: “You take that one and I’ll take care of these ones.”
The lioness raised to her feet and stretched herself, yawning noisily.
“Let’s go, huh…”, Rafiki said, but he realized that he didn’t know the lioness’ name. “What’s your name?”, the baboon asked.
After shaking herself, she answered: “Dalasini.”
“Then, Dalasini, let’s go. We don’t have time to lose.”, Rafiki said and started walking, with the cubs under his arms.
Grabbing the last cub with her mouth, the lioness followed Rafiki. The bird that had helped the baboon in finding the lioness, also followed him, flying a few meters behind.
Dalasini was confused. “Well, I just hope I’m doing the correct thing… I wish my pride won’t get too upset…”
Everything had been so sudden… She hadn’t ever met the baboon that guided her to the King’s cave, however, by some strange reason, he seemed to be trustworthy, but she was afraid of meeting the rest of the lionesses of a totally unknown pride.
“Don’t be afraid.”, Rafiki said at that moment.
Dalasini was startled.
“Thembi’s pride will be very friendly towards you.”, Rafiki added.
Dalasini was amazed at the fact the Rafiki had read her thoughts, but then she thought it all had been a mere coincidence.
They continued walking, quickly and in absolute silence.
It was almost at dawn when Rafiki and Dalasini arrived to Pride Rock. The lioness was marveled with the beautiful place.
“This place is wonderful!”, she exclaimed with emotion.
Rafiki only nodded.
The lionesses of Thembi’s pride descried the baboon approaching.
“Thembi, they’ve arrived!”, Anasa shouted.
The rest of the pride raised to their feet in order to greet Rafiki and the lioness that came with him.
Thembi came out of the cave walking quickly and approached his pride. Karanga remained at the side of the second cub, who was losing his body heat rapidly, as same as the first cub. Both lions were weak and they moved less with each minute that passed, falling slowly into a stupor. Their stomach growled constantly, demanding the vital food. For that reason, Thembi was exceedingly worried, but only for his older son. He hadn’t taken notice of the second one. Seeing Rafiki being accompanied by a lioness, the Lion King cheered up and ran to his meeting.
“Rafiki! You’ve found her!”, Thembi exclaimed, analyzing rapidly the lioness’ condition.
“Yes, indeed, Thembi. She has just had cubs…”
Thembi looked at her fixedly, causing her to look away.
“Tell me, dear, what’s your name?”, the King asked.
“My name is Dalasini, your Highness.”, she said with deep respect after she had left the cub on the ground.
“Dalasini, could you feed my son ?”, the King asked, but all of a sudden he felt a pain in the ribs.
It had been Rafiki, who, hearing Thembi speaking as if he only had one son, poked Thembi with the end of his staff on one side.
Thembi, getting the message, corrected quickly: “And his brother also?”
Dalasini nodded. “Where are they? I’ll feed them right now.”
Thembi rested one of his front paws on the lioness’ shoulder and fixed his gaze on her. She didn’t look away this time, and noticed that Thembi’s eyes were red and swollen because he had cried too much.
“I thank you so much for your help, Dalasini.”, Thembi said.
She nodded, and looking away, she said: “It’s nothing… Any mother would have done the same…”
Thembi rested his paw on the ground again and started walking towards the cave.
“Come, follow me, I’ll take you to where the cubs are.”, the lion said.
Rafiki grabbed the three cubs of Dalasini this time, and with a movement of the head, he signaled her that she had to follow the King and that nothing bad would happen to her.
Dalasini followed the lion while Rafiki and the bird that had accompanied him walked to where the rest of the pride was.
“Rafiki, will that lioness feed the cubs ?”, Sita asked.
“Yes, indeed. I just hope it isn’t too late…”, the baboon replied.
“Then, it would be better to take this little one inside the cave so he can eat also.”, Karanga said, and grabbed the second cub with her mouth.
She took him to the cave. She was followed by Rafiki, who left Dalasini’s cubs in charge of the other lionesses. The bird had decided to wait to know the health state of the cubs once they had eaten, and he settled in a nearby tree. Kuuliza and the rest of the lionesses remained in their places, wishing with fervor for the cubs to survive.
Karanga entered the cave while Dalasini lied on the floor, offering food to the future king. Thembi placed the first cub near Dalasini, and at the same time, Karanga did the same with the smaller cub. Thembi looked at her with distrust, but he said nothing. He just stood there, observing how his sons started eating. At the first contact with the liquid, the cubs seemed to wake up, and started eating anxiously, letting escape once in a while a deep whine.
“I’m glad they are eating, I was fearing they wouldn’t have enough strength to eat…”, Rafiki said.
Thembi, a little more relaxed seeing how his son ate, sat down beside Dalasini.
“Thanks again, Dalasini. Without you, they would have died for sure.”
Dalasini smiled understandingly, feeling she had done what was correct when going to the Pride Lands and helping Thembi.
With deep sorrow, the lioness said: “I’m so sorry about the Queen, Highness.”
Thembi pressed his eyes shut and remained silent, sighing once in a while.
Karanga approached him, and, trying to comfort him, she licked his cheek lovingly.
Thembi opened his eyes, startled, and gave a few steps back.
Karanga felt hurt, but she didn’t demonstrate it.
“Thembi…”, Karanga said, “We must carry through Kitok’s funeral ceremony.”
Thembi nodded, and , slowly, he returned on the steps he had given.
“Dalasini, it is necessary we carry on with the Queen’s funeral. Could you stay here and take care of my son ?”
Dalasini tilted her head, with curiosity. “Of your son ?”
“Of my sons”, Thembi corrected, turning around and walking towards Kitok’s body.
He suppressed a slight growl as he recalled that when the second cub came to this world, Kitok was forced to abandon it. That produced in him a terrible feeling of uneasiness, and he felt a great rage at the impotence of knowing that there was nothing that could be done to change things. He lied down next to Kitok, shedding some tears.
“Rafiki,”, the lion called, “help me.”
Rafiki walked near Kitok’s body and lifted her, placing her over Thembi’s back.
“It’s time for the funeral.”, the lion said.
Rafiki nodded.
“We’ll take her to your tree right now.”, Thembi added, and he stood up, carrying Kitok over his back.
He left the cave, and with the first lights of morning, the lions started the peregrination to the tree where Rafiki used to live. Once they got there, the baboon would be in charge of the Queen’s funeral. Sita took Dalasini’s cubs to the cave quickly and caught up with the rest of the pride. Thembi was walking at the front, heavily, suffering greatly because of carrying his wife’s body over his back… she, who had been always so skillful, agile and strong… It was too painful for the lion. He had always loved her, since they were cubs. He had never taken another lioness too seriously, saving his whole heart for Kitok and for no one else. Thus, it was impossible for him to get the idea that the would never again listen to his wife’s laughter. While walking, Thembi started recalling his cubhood, adolescence, and maturity, being always present the alive memory of Kitok, but one of those memories, in special, brought new tears to the eyes of the Lion King.
… “Kitok, I would like to talk to you for a minute…”, young Thembi said.
Kitok smiled coyly.
“Talk with me, huh ?”, she said with her melodious voice, and, looking straight at the prince, she added: “And… about what do you want to talk about ?”
Thembi looked at her fixedly, prisoner of the magic of that beautiful lioness, and he delayed his answer a few seconds.
“About… oh, I can’t tell you right now, let’s go somewhere else.”
Kitok smiled again and tilted her head with curiosity.
“Mhh, well, too much mystery… Can’t you just tell me a little something ? So at least I know what this is all about…”, she said, blinking anxiously.
Thembi nodded as if to say no.
“It’s a surprise, Kitok.”
She let loose a loud laugh and jumped from one side to another enthusiastically.
“Oh, yes! I love surprises!”
Thembi didn’t stop looking at her for an instant. He laughed slightly.
Kitok stopped jumping and looked at him with curiosity. “What are you laughing at?”, she asked.
“You look just like a cub that has gotten double portion of meat for dinner… jumping here and there…”, the lion answered, still smiling.
She approached Thembi, getting so near, that she made Thembi shudder.
Kitok smiled seductively and whispered at his ear: “I am still a cub, but not for long.”
The lioness turned around , and after looking coyly back at him over her shoulder, she walked away a few steps.
Thembi, fascinated, just observed how Kitok disappeared, but before she got lost in the distance, the lion shouted:
“If you want to know what the surprise is, I’ll be waiting for you at the water hole…”
The lioness shook her tail twice in reply, and disappeared in the distance.
Thembi sighed deeply and let himself fall down to the ground. He didn’t notice, because of his perturbation, that his father was approaching.
“Well, son, is something wrong with you ?”, King Haraka asked, sitting beside his son.
Thembi raised his eyes, and seeing the noble face of his father, the young lion got nearer and nuzzled him.
“Father, I have talked to Kitok.”, Thembi said with a little fear.
“I’m glad, my son. Now I see why are you so nervous…”, Haraka said understandingly, and added: “And… what happened ?”
Thembi sighed. “I haven’t told her anything yet, but we’re going to meet tonight at the water hole.”
Haraka smiled, and groomed his mane with one of his paws, grooming later his son’s mane.
“You must look good, cub.”, Haraka said.
Thembi walked away a few steps growling slightly. “I am not a cub anymore, dad.”, the young lion told his father, looking distrustfully at him.
Haraka smiled. “I know, son, but I just don’t get the idea of seeing you like this, an adult lion… I know I’m getting old, son, and you’ll soon take my place…”
Thembi approached his father quickly. “No, father, don’t say that… You will live many years more…”
Haraka looked at the sky sadly and sighed, as if some weight were upon him, bothering him.
Seeing that it was beginning to grow dark, the King said : “Go on, Thembi, if you are having a date tonight, it’s going to be better that you look good. Go and wash that face of yours, because it is still visible that you have just eaten.”
Thembi nodded, and after nuzzling his father once more, the lion walked away a few steps, he lied on the ground and started cleaning his paws, and with them, he cleaned his face, always thinking of Kitok.
Haraka smiled to himself and walked away in the opposite direction. At that moment, the lioness Karanga walked by, and she looked at him on the quiet. Noticing he was having trouble on cleaning part of his cheek, the lioness approached amicably.
“You need help ?”
Thembi glanced at her. “No, thanks, I am almost done.”, he replied curtly.
Karanga looked nervous from one side to another, wishing to start conversation with Thembi, without knowing how to do it.
“And… you ate well ?”, she asked, sitting slowly at the lion’s side.
“Mmm-hh. Delicious.”, he said, and, looking up, he stared at the lioness saying, “You are a very good huntress, I had been watching you while you and the others hunted this morning…”
She blushed. “Really ? You think so ?”
Thembi nodded.
She looked at the horizon, nervously.
Thembi noticed that she was nervous, and he realized that he was making the same mistake again, giving false hope to Karanga.
Standing up, the lion showed he was walking away.
“You are leaving so soon ?”, Karanga asked, trying to hide her disillusion.
“That’s right. I have an unfinished business.”
The lioness stood up also and caught up with him. “Thembi…”
“Yeah ?”, he replied.
“Huh, I was thinking… I had planned going for a walk tonight, knowing that the moon will be complete and there is going to be lots of light… Wouldn’t you like to go with me ?”, she asked, smiling charmingly.
Thembi looked away, and, trying not to hurt Karanga too much, he said, “I’m sorry, Karanga, but I already have a date with Kitok.”
“Oh…”, she said, “with Kitok… That’s OK, perhaps another time…”, she said, visibly perturbed.
“Perhaps.”, the lion said, trying to ignore the agitation of her pride-mate, and, sighing deeply, he walked away, leaving Karanga drowned in her sadness.
“Thembi…”, the lioness thought once he was far away, “I always kept in my heart the thought that you would choose me as queen, but I see that is not going to happen.”
Shedding a tear that was soon lost among the grass, Karanga told herself, “But I am glad that at least Kitok will be happy, because she also loves you so much…”
The lioness returned to Pride Rock walking slowly, and there she was greeted by another lioness.
“Daughter, where were you ?”, Kuuliza asked.
Without controlling herself, Karanga broke down and clung to her mother’s neck.
“Mom, Thembi wants Kitok !”, she said between sobs.
Kuuliza remained silent while she stroked her daughter’s back with one paw. She closed her eyes firmly, suffering as she saw her daughter crying in that way, but it always had been obvious that Thembi had showed great preference for Kitok. Once that Karanga had calmed down, mother and daughter went for a walk, to talk a while and clear their minds.
“Kitok !”, Thembi said startled as the lioness walked to him. She looked beautiful under the moonlight. Kitok, admiring Thembi’s black mane, now shiny and silvery because of the light, approached the future king and sat beside him. Thembi was feeling nervous, because Kitok’s presence stirred him up. She had to start with the conversation.
“Well ? What was the surprise you were going to give, me, Thembi ?”
He smiled. “Well, Kitok, it’s that you…”
“I what ?”, she said smiling, without being able to hide her enthusiasm.
“You will be the new queen of Pride Lands.”, Thembi said, sighing at the end of his phrase.
“Oh, Thembi !”, she said with wide eyes.
“What’s wrong ? You don’t want to be—”
“Of course I want ! Of course ! Yes, yes, yes !”, she said, deeply moved, and, she licked Thembi’s cheek quickly.
“Well, Kitok, I am glad you have accepted to be the queen !”, the lion said as he touched with his own paw the recently kissed cheek.
She looked straight at Thembi’s eyes and said, “Thembi, do you love me ?”
“Of course I do, Kitok, more than my life.”, he answered, without looking away for an instant.
“And do you really want me to be the queen that will rule next to you ? I mean, your wife ?”, she said, coming nearer.
“My wife, the mother of my cubs !”, he replied, approaching too.
As soon as they were nose to nose, he asked, “And you, Kitok, do you love me ?”
She replied, “Thembi, my beloved Thembi, you know I have always loved you, and I will love you till the day I leave this world ! I love you ! I love you !”, she said passionately, and he kissed her.
“I love you too, Kitok, and I will also love you till death separates us !” …
“You are exhausted, Thembi, does your wife weigh too much ?”, Rafiki said as he helped the Lion King to put Kitok under the shade of his tree.
“No, Rafiki, it’s the weight of this sorrow the one that’s killing me, little by little…”, the lion said, looking at his wife and recalling the words he had pronounced the day he declared his love to Kitok: “Till death separates us …”
The rest of the lionesses remained silent, specially Karanga, who was looking with sadness at the body of her best friend. Arming himself with courage, Thembi cleared his throat and the funeral began.
“My pride, we are now gathered here to give the last good bye to the queen, a lioness whose feelings were kind and noble, who always had a word of comfort for the ones who were sad or wounded, a lioness who always looked after her pride… my wife—”
Thembi’s voice failed, and he couldn’t go on.
Making a signal to Rafiki, the baboon continued with the speech. “Kitok has passed away, but she has gone to a better place, where she won’t feel hunger nor thirst. We shall remember her with deep love and respect because she was so brave that she gave her own life in order to save the life of her younger son.”
At this point, Thembi extended his claws and buried them deep in the ground, but only Karanga noticed this.
Rafiki continued. “We must be strong and confront reality in a positive way, we shouldn’t let ourselves fall down. The Circle of Life goes on and nothing will stop it, there’s nothing we can do to stop life from following its course. We must have strength and courage, Thembi.”
The lion nodded, as did the others present.
Rafiki approached the lion, and, giving a slight pat on his back, he told him, “Don’t let yourself get down, Thembi, because when one door closes, another one opens.”
Holding back tears, Thembi sighed.
Taking the word again, the lion said : “Now, let’s keep silence for Kitok’s eternal rest.”
The lions remained in absolute silence, repressing sobs that threatened to burst out at every moment.
After a couple of minutes in silence, the King went on talking. “We must return to our home. Let’s say good bye to Kitok for the last time.”, he said, trying to be strong.
One by one, the lionesses nuzzled Kitok’s face, saying farewell to the queen. All of them, except Karanga, had said good bye when Thembi walked to his wife’s body.
“My Kitok, I will miss you… no matter what happens, I will never forget you…”, and , thinking, he said inwardly, “Your death will not remain unpunished, my beloved.”
Speaking in high tone of voice again, he said, “May you rest in peace, wherever you are, Kitok.”
He kissed her for the last time and turned around, heading for Pride Rock. The lionesses, except Karanga, followed him. Thembi glanced back and noticed that Karanga remained by Kitok’s side, motionless and crying inconsolably.
He looked at the rest of his pride and told them, “Walk to Pride Rock, I’ll catch up with you in a moment.”
The lionesses continued walking, while Thembi walked back to where Karanga was, crying for Kitok’s death. As he approached, he was able to listen to the last words of good bye for Kitok.
“…And you were my best friend, Kitok. I feel so sorry because you had to go, really…”
Thembi approached her and nuzzled her cheek softly.
“We must go back, Karanga.”
She raised her sight and looked with deep sadness at Thembi.
He stared at her, trying to cheer her up, even though he felt that he would too burst in tears in no time.
Karanga stood up and walking beside Thembi, the two lions walked away. Rafiki waited until both disappeared, and the funeral began.
When they arrived to Pride Rock, the lionesses entered the cave, in order to see how the sons of the king were doing. Dalasini was cleaning one of them, while the rest of the cubs slept peacefully.
“How are they ?” Kuuliza asked as she examined the five cubs.
“They’re okay, but the little one is too weak.”, Dalasini said, referring to the younger son of Thembi.
Kuuliza looked at Dalasini lovingly.
“Thanks a lot for helping Thembi’s sons.”, she told the new comer.
“It’s nothing.”, Dalasini replied smiling.
“What do you think if we introduce ourselves ?”, Kuuliza said, and the rest of the lionesses nodded.
Dalasini fixed her gaze upon them, wanting to meet the lionesses belonging to that pride, which had turned out to be very friendly.
“I am Kuuliza, the eldest lioness of this pride.” One by one, the rest of the lioness introduced themselves.
“I am Anasa.”
“And I am Huria.”
“My name’s Sita.”
Dalasini smiled. “It’s a pleasure meeting you. I am Dalasini.”, she replied.
Kuuliza glanced at the outside of the cave, noticing that Thembi and Karanga were approaching.
“The one that comes over there is my daughter, her name is Karanga.”, Kuuliza said.
Dalasini looked at the entrance of the cave, just at the same time that Thembi entered, followed by Karanga. Sadness was reflected in the face of both lions, and they didn’t pronounce a word.
Kuuliza walked near the King. “Thembi, your smaller son is weak.”, she whispered.
Thembi only shrugged.
Kuuliza glanced at Karanga, who sighed deeply.
“Mom…”, she said.
Kuuliza walked near her daughter, feeling uncomfortable seeing Thembi didn’t give importance to his little cub.
“Tell me, my daughter.”
Karanga didn’t pronounce a single word, but she hugged her mother’s neck and sobbed repeatedly.
The rest of the pride was looking at her compassionately.
Anasa whispered in Dalasini’s ear, “The queen and Karanga were very good friends…”
Dalasini looked at her and felt pity for that young lioness that was suffering greatly.
She was distracted when she heard a weak whine of Thembi’s younger son.
“Come on, little one, you have to eat a little more…”, Dalasini said as she licked the cub’s little head.
“It may be good if we take them out to the sun for a while…”, Sita said, looking worriedly at the little lions.
“It’s a good idea.”, Dalasini said, and she stood up, while the other cubs complained for their mother’s movement. Thembi’s older cub remained sound asleep.
“Can you help me take them out ? I can’t handle all of them at the same time…”, Dalasini said as she took one cub with her mouth.
“Of course”, the other lionesses answered, and helped taking the cubs to the exterior, where the light of the sun caused their little eyes to press shut until they got used to the light of day. Karanga came out of the cave after a few seconds, leaving Thembi alone for a moment. She sat down next to her pride and, without paying enough attention, she listened to their conversation.
“How are you going to call your cubs ?”, Huria asked Dalasini.
“She will be Sarabi…”, she said, pointing to the oldest one. “She will be… Sarafina.”, she added, pointing at the one in the middle.
“And the smallest one ?”, Anasa asked.
“She will be… Ndani.”
“How pretty names ! It must be wonderful to have cubs, don’t you think ?”, Sita asked her pride-mates.
All of them, even Karanga, nodded.
“And… how are the sons of the king going to be called ?”, Dalasini asked.
The lionesses shrugged.
“Thembi hasn’t told us anything yet.”, Kuuliza said.
“And, I don’t think he will for now.”, Sita added.
They remained silent for a few minutes until one of the cubs started crying.
“Calm down, Sarafina, mom ‘s here…” , Dalasini said soothingly. She fed the cub, and soon Sarafina calmed down.
Without paying attention, Karanga noticed that a blue bird with a big beak was looking at them curiously, perched on the branches of a tree. Karanga stared at him, and the hornbill noticed this.
Gathering courage, he asked the lioness, “Can I see the sons of King Thembi ?”
Karanga smiled slightly and nodded.
The bird smiled, and flying smoothly, he landed at one side of the pride, not without certain fear of being attacked, but his desire for seeing the princes was very much stronger than the fear he could feel. With a little difficulty, he managed to distinguish the two males.
“They are beautiful, specially this one.”, the bird said, pointing with one wing at the older cub.
The lionesses looked at the cubs and some of them nodded. They fell silent, letting themselves absorb in the contemplation of the babies.
Rafiki, having finished with Kitok’s funeral, went to wash his face at the water hole. It had been a very agitated day, but he knew that he still had job to do. He must go to Pride Rock to communicate the lions that the funeral had taken place, and, besides, he also had to gather herbs, plants, a little soil, and other ingredients that would allow him to foresee the future. He gathered on his knees in order to drink some water and deaden his thirst. Rafiki was thinking on fate and what it had prepared for Thembi an his sons. The older cub had the right of being King because he was born first, in case he died, the younger cub would have the opportunity of possessing the throne after Thembi’s death. Rafiki was still thinking about that, when, taking a last drink of water, grabbed his staff and started walking towards Pride Rock. It was not too long before he arrived, and he was glad to see the pride gathered around the cubs, but he noticed sadly that Thembi wasn’t with the lionesses. As he approached, Rafiki realized that a bird was with them.
“Oh, he’s the one that helped me find Dalasini, it’s good he’s there, I’ll thank him, and… I know he’ll be rewarded.”
The lionesses noticed Rafiki approaching.
“Rafiki !” Karanga exclaimed, and ran to the baboon.
“The funeral is over.” The baboon announced.
Karanga looked at him fixedly, as a tear ran on cheek.
Rafiki raised an arm and he touched Karanga’s face with his hand. “Don’t cry, Karanga, for Kitok is with you.”
She looked away and sighed slightly.
“Is Thembi inside the cave ?”, the baboon asked.
The lionesses nodded.
Rafiki glanced at the cubs, and then he looked at the bird.
Smiling, Rafiki said, “Come with me.”
The bird was amazed, but he didn’t say a word., and, obediently, he followed the baboon to the interior of the cave.
Once they were inside, Rafiki walked near Thembi, who was sitting, his back turned on the entrance of the cavern. The lion remained silent, absorbed in his thoughts, and he jumped startled when he felt the warm hand of Rafiki on his back.
“Rafiki ! Have you finished with the funeral ?”, Thembi asked.
Rafiki nodded.
Thembi closed his eyes for an instant. When he opened them again, the first thing he saw was the bird, who was looking at him with respect and admiration.
“And who are you ? What are you doing here ?”, Thembi asked, intrigued.
The bird looked at Rafiki nervously, without knowing what to answer.
Rafiki spoke for him. “Thembi, he was the one who helped me find Dalasini; without the help of—”, the baboon said, but he interrupted himself when he realized that he didn’t know the bird’s name.
“Zazu,”, the hornbill said, “My name’s Zazu.”
Rafiki smiled. “Without the help of Zazu, your two cubs would have died because of the lack of food.”
Thembi looked straight at the bird. “I appreciate your help on saving the future king…”, Thembi said.
Zazu smiled nervously. “Oh, Highness, it was nothing, really…”, he said with enthusiasm.
Rafiki took the word again.
“And…”, the baboon said winking at Thembi, “I believe he deserves a reward, isn’t that right, Thembi ?”
Thembi looked at the baboon and nodded. Then he looked at the bird.
“Tell me, Zazu… do you have a home ?”
The bird nodded. “I have two brothers and one sister.”, the hornbill said.
Thembi twisted his mouth slightly.
Zazu continued talking. “But, I wouldn’t like to go back there.”, he said, embarrassed.
Thembi looked at him with curiosity. “How’s that ?”, the King asked.
“Well… my brothers are so… they—They treat my sister and me really badly, because they are older than us.”, Zazu said as he arranged his feathers nervously.
Thembi glanced at Rafiki and both of them nodded.
“Zazu, “, Thembi said, “I was thinking that maybe your reward could be to live here with us, you could be my majordomo, and you could help me maintain my lands free from intruders…”
Zazu looked at the king estranged.
“Do you wish for me to help you, your Majesty ?”
“Of course.”, Thembi replied, and added, “You can fly, and you could tell me if strangers are approaching, or where the herds of gazelles are so the lionesses can go hunting… really, you could help me a lot.”, the King said.
Zazu was awed. He would have never expected that from one day to another he would turn into the King’s helper. The idea fascinated him.
“If you want my help, your Majesty, I will give it you with great pleasure.”, Zazu said, bowing.
Thembi, without losing his serious expression, nodded.
“Welcome !”, Rafiki said with a big grin.
“Come on.” Thembi said. “I will introduce you to the rest of the pride. From this day on, they will protect you and they won’t let any other animal harm you.”
Zazu gasped. It seemed marvelous to him to be among the lions, to study their past, learn their customs… They left the cave and walked to where the pride was resting.
“Look. Here comes Thembi.”, Anasa said.
Karanga turned quickly, and didn’t took her sight away from him.
Thembi approached his pride. “My lionesses, I have an announcement to make.”
They kept silence.
“From this day on, we will have a helper. This is Zazu. If it weren’t for him, Rafiki would have never found Dalasini and the future King would have died.”
The lionesses looked at him for an instant and then concentrated again on Thembi.
“Helper ? What do you mean ?”, Kuuliza asked, a little confused.
“He will inform us where the prey can be found, he will keep us informed about intrusions to our lands…”
Zazu straightened himself and looked at the lionesses with pride, until he heard what Thembi said next.
“…And he will take care of the cubs while you go hunting.” Zazu looked with wide eyes at the King, but he didn’t dare to say a word.
“Take care of the cubs ??”, the poor bird thought, “Oh, I just hope I won’t get into trouble…”
The lionesses looked at him and said in unison,
“Welcome to the pride, Zazu.”
Zazu smiled nervously, and he agitated the tip of his fathers in a salutation signal.
Thembi was getting ready to return to the cave when one of the lionesses called him.
“Thembi…”, Sita said.
Thembi returned on his steps. “What do you want, Sita ?”, the lion asked.
“We were just curious… How are you going to call your sons ?”
Thembi glanced at the concurrence, and looked at the ground for an instant. He sighed deeply, and at last, he talked.
“The older one will be called Mufasa.”
“Mufasa ! How nice !”, the lionesses exclaimed in unison.
“And the younger one ?”, Anasa asked, wishing to know the cub’s name.
With a stern grimace, that froze the lionesses’ enthusiasm and happiness, Thembi said, “That one will be Hatari.”
Karanga looked at him without believing what she had just heard.
“Hatari ? But that word means danger !”, the lioness said indignantly.
Thembi nodded. “Precisely.”
The lionesses looked at each other. Rafiki was exceedingly amazed also.
Thembi continued, “The cub is guilty for his mother’s death. He put Kitok’s life in danger. Therefore, he is a dangerous cub. Precaution with him must be taken.”
He turned around and walked inside the cave without saying another word.
Rafiki shook his head in disapproval. “This is going to be more serious than I thought.”, the baboon said.
The lionesses looked at each other terrified.
“Hatari, what an ugly name…”, Sita said.
“But we can’t do anything about it, he is the father, and he decided to call him like that.”, Kuuliza said.
“If only he had turned out to be female, we would have named her, since Kitok is dead, but, he turned out to be male…”
The lionesses looked at the cubs.
Rafiki, grabbing his staff and getting ready to leave, repeated to himself so he wouldn’t forget the names, “Mufasa and Hatari…”, and walked away slowly, leaving the lionesses and the new majordomo lost in deep confusion.
Karanga was terribly indignant. Her pride-mates stared at her, waiting to see what Karanga’s reaction would be.
The lioness looked at her friends, and said, “This can’t be possible. How can he do that ?!”
The rest of the lionesses shrugged.
“I will talk to Thembi right now !” Karanga said as she stood up.
“Good luck.”, Anasa said.
Karanga nodded.
She walked straight to the cave and faced Thembi. “You are not naming the cub like that ! You change that name immediately !”, she said, sounding extremely annoyed.
Thembi looked at her and his face turned into a more stern expression.
“Who do you think you are in order to enter MY cave like that and give ME orders in that tone of voice?”, the King asked.
She growled loudly. “That cub isn’t responsible for Kitok’s death and you know it !”, she snarled.
Thembi half-growled. “He _is_ responsible. Now get out of here before I lose my patience.”, Thembi said turning around.
Karanga nodded no. “I am not leaving until you change that cub’s name !”, she said.
Thembi turned again and faced her, snarling menacingly. “That cub will be Hatari, and I don’t want to hear another word about it. I am warning you.”, Thembi said.
Karanga didn’t look away. And, even though she loved him with all her heart, she lost her patience and hit him in the cheek with her paw, claws partly extended.
He was clearly surprised by her reaction, and, lifting a paw to his cheek, he touched it, confirming that Karanga hadn’t drawn blood from his face.
She backed away a few steps, startled.
Thembi fixed his gaze on her, and shook his head in disapproval. “You have made a terrible mistake, Karanga.”, he said, approaching her.
She continued backing, fearfully. Finally, she couldn’t back anymore, she was trapped between the wall of the cave and Thembi.
“You,”, Thembi whispered at Karanga’s face, “You have hit me. You know I hate being hit by someone, specially by a female, like you.”, he continued.
Karanga gasped. “Will you kill me, Thembi ?”, she asked, looking at his eyes.
He laughed out loud. “Kill you ?, Ha, no.”, he said, and turned around, walking away from her.
He looked at her over his shoulder. “I have a better way to punish you.”
Without another word, he left the cave.
Karanga, still inside, sighed. “Oh, I—I couldn’t control myself, I was so—so angry…”, she said out loud, but nobody, except the dark walls of the cave, heard her.
Nervously, she walked out of the cave. She ran across Kuuliza.
“My daughter, what happened ? Thembi stormed out , and he looked very angry…”, Kuuliza said.
Karanga sighed. “Mom, I hit him.”
“You did what ?”, Kuuliza asked in awe.
“He was threatening me, he told me he wouldn’t change the cub’s name…”, Karanga said in despair.
Kuuliza nodded. “Okay, calm down.”, she told Karanga.
She sighed again. “Mom, he told me he would punish me… I wonder what my punishment will be…”
Kuuliza looked at the direction Thembi had taken, and then looked at her daughter again.
“Listen, Karanga, whatever punishment you get, because we all know he _will_ punish you, try to be strong, and you must not look too worried about it, don’t give Thembi that satisfaction.”
“Yes, mom.”, Karanga replied.
“Come on, let’s go to check on the cubs while we wait for Thembi to return.”, Kuuliza said.
Karanga nodded and followed her mother, still thinking on what she had just done to Thembi.
“Gee, I hit him ! I hit him ! He must be very angry…”, the lioness thought, as she sat down beside Dalasini and looked with interest at Hatari.
“I want to clean him. May I ?”, Karanga asked Dalasini.
“Sure.”, she answered.
Karanga grabbed little Hatari with her mouth and began cleaning the cub’s ears. The little lion purred, enjoying the caressing sensation of the warm tongue of Karanga.
“You don’t like Mufasa ?”, Sita asked, admiring the beauty of the older cub.
“Sure I do, but I feel something special towards… towards Hatari, that I don’t feel with the other cub…”, Karanga said between lick and lick.
Hatari continued purring, feeling safe next to the warmth of Karanga.
Rafiki had gathered everything he needed in order to foresee the future. He was at the top of his baobab tree, mixing some herbs with soil, water and the inside contents of a golden gourd in a tortoise shell. Looking at the mixture, he nodded and added a little more water, and shook the shell in a circular way. He left the shell in the floor and waited for its contents to settle down. He took a look around him, and noticed Thembi walking not far from there.
“Poor Thembi, he must be so sad…”, Rafiki thought. He dropped out of the tree and walked to where Thembi was pacing.
“Hey, Thembi, are you all right ?”, Rafiki asked.
Thembi turned around and looked at him. “No, Rafiki, you know I am not.”, the lion said, sighing deeply. “I miss my wife, and now I must punish Karanga.”
“Punish her ? Why ?”, Rafiki asked looking worriedly at the King.
“She hit me, right in the face. She lost all respect.”, Thembi said sternly.
“Oh.”, Rafiki replied, and remained silent for an instant. “But—why did she hit you ?”, the baboon asked after a few seconds.
Thembi closed his eyes as he spoke. “She wanted me to change the cub’s name. I told her I wouldn’t change it, we got angry and she hit me.”, the King said.
Rafiki nodded silently. “And how will you punish her ?”
Thembi looked at the distant horizon. “I don’t know yet, but I will make sure she learns her lesson…”
“Try not to be too rough with her, Thembi, you know she loves you…”
“But she must pay for what she has done.”, Thembi said, “No matter if she loves me or she doesn’t.”
Rafiki thought it would be better to leave the King alone now, and turned around, but he asked one more question. “Thembi, are you sure you will name your cub Hatari ?”
Thembi nodded. “Yes, he will be Hatari. And that’s the last I want to hear about it !”, the lion said.
Rafiki nodded in disapproval, but he left without another word.
The king was left alone.
“Hatari will be.”, he repeated to himself. He turned to Pride Rock and started walking, thinking on Karanga’s punishment.
Rafiki returned to his tree, feeling a little disappointed because of Thembi’s attitude, and, sighing, he sat down next to his tortoise shell.
“I must have my mind clear, otherwise, I won’t concentrate on this…”, he thought as he tried to calm himself.
He inhaled deeply several times, with his eyes closed. He tried to think on something nice, like how beautiful Thembi’s sons were. He relaxed a little. After a few minutes, he opened his eyes and fix his gaze on the mixture he had in front of him. Looking at it carefully, he began analyzing each of the figures that had appeared when the herbs and soil settled down. Studying them carefully, the baboon began talking to himself.
“Aha… I can see… oh, there will be a new queen, but… hmm, it is not too clear…”, he mumbled.
He looked at another figure. His face suddenly changed. His expression was one of fear mixed with worry.
“I can see… two big lions, and a small one…”, he said, interpreting the figure as he had been taught by his ancestors.
He continued studying silently, and after some minutes, he looked up and put his tortoise shell aside. The baboon sighed deeply.
“It seems Hatari will have a difficult life…”, he said, as he tried to put in order his mind.
The lionesses were preparing for the hunt. Thembi hadn’t returned yet, but all the females knew he must be hungry.
“Dalasini and Zazu, will you take care of the cubs while we are out, please ?”, Kuuliza asked.
Zazu nodded. “Of course, lady.”, he said politely.
Dalasini nodded also. “You know you can count with me on that. As soon as I am able to hunt again, I will help you.”, she said.
Sita looked at her as she sharpened her claws against a rock. “I wonder, Dalasini, do you think your pride is looking for you ?”
“No.”, Dalasini answered. “I have already sent them a message with a messenger; my pride knows I am okay and that I will be back soon.”
“Oh.”, Sita said, and she continued sharpening her claws.
Karanga was stretching herself and loosening her muscles a little, when she realized Thembi was approaching.
Karanga ran to her mother. “Oh, my god, he’s here.”, she whispered at Kuuliza’s ear.
“Don’t worry honey, everything’s gonna be okay.”, Kuuliza said, licking her daughter’s cheek lovingly.
When Thembi got to where the lionesses were getting ready for hunting, he said, “I trust you are preparing to get some food.”
“Yes, we are, Thembi.”, Anasa said.
“That’s good.”, he said as he looked at each lioness.
Kuuliza said, “Well, lionesses, let’s go.”
The rest of the pride followed Kuuliza, who was the hunt leader, and left Thembi behind.
“Karanga !”, Thembi called.
She pricked her ears, and, after looking for a few seconds at her mother, Karanga looked back.
“Yes, Thembi ?”, she said, trying to hide her anxiety.
“You stay here. You won’t go hunting today, cause we need to talk.”, he said coldly.
Karanga looked at her fellow lionesses. “Take care, all of you…”, she said as she returned to where Thembi was.
“Karanga…”, Kuuliza called.
She turned to her. “Yes, mom ?”
Kuuliza walked to her. “Honey, remember, whatever his punishment is, try to stay calm and accept it with courage…”
“Yeah, mom.”, Karanga said, and walked to Thembi’s side.
“Good bye, and good luck !”, Thembi shouted to the hunting lionesses.
“Thanks !”, they shouted back.
Thembi waited until they had disappeared, and then, without looking at Karanga, he said, “Come on, will talk inside the cave.”
Karanga nodded, and, silently, she followed the lion.
Dalasini and Zazu watched the scene with interest, wondering what Thembi would tell Karanga.
The lion walked inside the cave, and, even though it was getting dark, he could see clearly inside of it. Karanga entered, walking after him, and sat down, waiting for Thembi’s punishment.
“Well, Karanga, you know why I called you here.”, he said, looking straight at her.
She nodded. “Thembi… I—”
“I am talking, don’t interrupt.”, he said.
Karanga remained silent.
“I know what your punishment will be.”
Karanga closed her eyes.
He cleared his throat. “I was going to choose you as queen, but I wouldn’t like to have for queen a lioness who wouldn’t respect his own king…”
Karanga’s eyes opened wide. She opened her mouth to say something, but no sound came.
“So,”, Thembi continued, “I will choose another lioness for queen.”
Karanga felt her eyes watering.
“So… that’s my punishment ?”, she said, trying to sound confident, without achieving it.
“Yes, but I’m not over yet.”, Thembi said.
“There’s more ?”, she asked, feeling as she were sinking into the ground.
“You won’t be allowed to get near Hatari.”, Thembi said, looking at the entrance of the cavern sternly, and turned his back on Karanga.
“That’s all, you can leave now.”, he said coldly.
Karanga was way too confused to leave the cave.
“What do you mean ?”, she said, trying to understand.
He sighed. “You won’t groom Hatari, you won’t keep him warm, you won’t be near him, it’s that simple.”
Karanga felt her sadness turn into rage.
“Don’t you think you are over-reacting a little ???”, she asked in despair.
“I will not discuss it ! You won’t be near him and that’s all. You are dismissed, young lady, and I hope you learn your lesson, and respect your superiors.”, Thembi said.
Karanga’s mouth was hanging open. She looked at Thembi, and she couldn’t help shedding a tear.
“Thembi, what happened to you ? You used to be so sweet—”
“Get out, Karanga, leave me alone.”, he said, trying to ignore the lioness’s words.
Recalling she had promised her mother to be strong in front of Thembi, she dried the tear with her paw, and left the cave, running hastily. She kept running until she arrived to the water hole. The starts were already visible, and she looked at them, crying inconsolably.
“I won’t be his queen ! I won’t !”, she told the stars.
Then she looked down, pressing her eyes shut. “He knew how to punish me ! Oh, this can’t be happening to me !”, she said, crumpling to the ground and sobbing repeatedly.
“And I will not be able to be near that special cub !” she added between sobs.
She began scratching the ground madly with her paws. She was crying noisily, and a giraffe that was passing by, saw her. She stared at the lioness, wondering why she was crying so much. The lioness raised her head and noticed she was being watched by the giraffe. She dried her tears and turned around, walking away.
“Perhaps she was grieving the queen’s death…”, the giraffe thought, and bent down to take a drink.
“Yeah !!! But the best part was when Sita jumped on its back! Hehe, this zebra didn’t even see what knocked it out !”, Anasa said.
“Yeah, too bad Karanga had to miss this hunt !”, Huria added.
“I was wondering, maybe Thembi told her to be his queen !”, Sita said.
Kuuliza listened to the comments of her pride-mates, and sighed silently.
“Wow, imagine that we return and we already have a queen !”
“Yeah, we are all very glad for Karanga, aren’t we ?”
“Sure we are, she loves him so much…”
Pride Rock was ahead, and the lionesses saw Thembi sitting on the promontory.
“Look, there he is, waiting for us as always !”, Sita said.
“He is so kind… I am still wondering why in the world he named his cub Hatari…”, Huria whispered.
“I bet he will change that name as soon as he stops grieving Kitok’s pass away.”, Anasa replied.
As the lionesses approached, Thembi walked down the promontory, licking his lips at the thought of food. He had already seen that the lionesses were dragging a zebra with them, and he felt his mouth watering. After a few minutes, the lionesses arrived.
“Here, Thembi, we hope you enjoy it.”, Sita said.
Thembi kissed each lioness, and thanked them. “As always, thanks for your effort, my pride.”
They went to sit down not far from the carcass, while Thembi ate.
Kuuliza looked around, searching for her daughter, and since she didn’t found a trace of her, she approached Thembi. He growled instinctively as he sensed someone coming near him.
“Where is my daughter ?”, Kuuliza asked.
“I don’t know, after I talked to her, she left and I haven’t seen her. But she better return soon, cause I have an announcement to make, regarding who will be the new queen of Pride Lands.”, Thembi said with mouth full.
Kuuliza looked at him coldly. “Nothing… has happened to her, right ?”, she asked distrustfully.
Thembi swallowed and looked at her. “You daughter is okay, I bet she has learned her lesson.”
Kuuliza’s eyes narrowed. “If you have hurt her then—”
Thembi interrupted her, exasperated. “Kuuliza, would you mind ? I am trying to eat, we’ll talk later about your daughter.”, he said, munching another piece of meat.
Kuuliza sighed, and left him. She joined her pride-mates, and tried to control herself.
She was really worried about Karanga, and she was hoping that Thembi hadn’t hurt her too much. Thembi finished eating and cleaned his muzzle with a paw.
“Your turn, ladies.”, he said as he left the carcass to the lionesses.
They began eating, but Kuuliza didn’t feel to much appetite, so she ate very little.
“Kuuliza, you won’t eat that ? Gee, even the cubs eat more…”, Sita said, nuzzling her pride-mate.
“I… I’m not hungry, Sita, I’m too worried for my daughter, it’s too dark, and you know hyenas are already out there…”
Sita nuzzled her once more. “Don’t worry, I bet she is fine, she knows how to take care of herself.”
Kuuliza sighed, and she looked once more at the horizon. A tawny form was approaching, slowly, but steadily.
“Karanga !” Kuuliza, shouted.
Thembi pricked his ears and looked at the approaching lioness. He sighed in relief. He too had been worried about her, but he didn’t want to show it.
Karanga walked nearer and her mother ran to her.
“My precious daughter, my cub, what happened ?”, Kuuliza asked as she licked her daughter’s face. She could taste her cheeks were salty because of the tears.
“You’ve been crying, my Karanga…”
Karanga nodded silently. “mom, I—”, Karanga started to say, but Thembi interrupted them.
“Well, Karanga, it was time you showed up !”
Karanga looked at him sadly.
Thembi walked to a small rock and climbed it.
Once he got to the top, he said, “Pride, come here, I will make the announcement.”
“What announcement ?” Karanga asked her mother.
“Thembi’s going to say who will be the new queen.”, Kuuliza said, looking at the king.
Karanga sighed deeply. “Mom, he has punished me, the worst punishment he could have ever given me !”, she said, holding back tears.
“But, dear, what happened, honey ?”
“He will—”
“Karanga and Kuuliza, I am waiting for you.”, Thembi said.
“Okay, you’ll tell me later, honey.”, Kuuliza said and nuzzled her daughter quickly.
They went to where the rest of the pride was sitting down, and joined them. Even Dalasini was near, taking care of the cubs. Thembi cleared his throat.
“You all know I will never forget Kitok.”, he said, and the lionesses nodded.
“But you also know that the Pride Lands need a queen, right ?”
They nodded again.
“So, I have finally chosen who will be the new queen.”
Karanga sighed, and a single tear ran down her face.
“The new queen will be…” Thembi ignored the faces of excitement of each lioness, and looked straight at Karanga.
“The new queen will be Karanga.”
She looked up with wide eyes. “Me ?”, she asked, her jaw trembling. “But—but I don’t get it, you said— “
“Why, you don’t want to be the queen ?”, he asked.
“Yes, I do, but—”
“Then come up here, Karanga.”
The lioness looked at her mother with wide eyes.
“My little one, you already knew he would choose you…” Kuuliza whispered.
Karanga looked at Thembi, full of confusion and doubts.
“I am waiting for you, Karanga.”, the King said.
Karanga walked to the rock and climbed it, standing beside Thembi.
“Here’s Karanga the Queen.”, Thembi announced.
The lionesses roared happily, looking at the new Queen of Pride Lands.
Zazu was ecstatic. He had never seen a ceremony of that kind, and he felt so glad of being there. Karanga looked at her friends from the rock, but her mind was too confused to enjoy the moment.
“Thembi but you—”
“Don’t say a word, we’ll talk later.”, he said through his teeth clenched in a smile.
Karanga kept silent, and also smiled.
Thembi cleared his throat again and the concurrence hushed immediately.
“And now, Karanga, you can go and kiss my sons, because, even though Dalasini’s feeding them, she will leave one day, so you will be their mother from this day on. You can go and kiss the cubs.”, he said, looking at her with a slight smile.
Karanga gasped. “You mean… the little one also ?”, she asked with a wide grin.
Thembi nodded.
She ran to where Dalasini and the cubs were, and she grabbed Hatari by the neck, and licked him lovingly. She held him between her paws and hugged him.
“My little one, my Hatari…”, she said, sobbing, but this time, of happiness.
“Well, I guess that’s all.”, Thembi said and walked down the rock.
He took Mufasa by the neck and kissed his little head. The rest of the lionesses silently walked away, leaving the new queen and king alone with the cubs. Zazu couldn’t help but stare at them. It was obvious the queen had certain preference for Hatari, as Thembi had it for Mufasa, but they seemed to be happy, each one with their favorite cub… Zazu sighed and followed the rest of the pride, who were resting after eating well, and, with stomachs full, some of them went to sleep.
After licking Hatari’s head for several minutes, Karanga asked Thembi, “Why did you do this to me ?”
Thembi looked at her. “I just wanted to make sure you would respect me.”
She looked at her cub silently.
“Never ever hit me again, Karanga. Because, then, the punishment will be for real.”
“I’m sorry, Thembi, it will never happen again.”, she said, realizing now, that she was The Queen.
Looking at him, she said, “Thembi, I will be a great queen, I promise.”
“I know you will be. Now, let me tell you, I’m sorry if I made you have a terrible time today, but, I guess you learned your lesson…”
“I think I did.”, she said, smiling, and added, “But, do you still think on naming this cub Hatari ?”
“Yes, Karanga.”
She sighed. “Okay, Hatari, your name is not important. You are a beautiful cub, and I will love you always.”, she said, nuzzling the little cub.
Thembi looked at Hatari sternly, and thought, “She won’t love you in a few time, murderer. I will make sure of that.” Then he looked at Mufasa. “My son,”, Thembi thought, “You will be a great King, it’s too bad you had to grow up without your real mother because of that cub… But, I promise, your life will be wonderful, full of satisfactions and possibilities, and you will be a great King, my Mufasa.”
Thembi and Karanga walked to the cave, each one carrying a cub, and joined the rest of their pride, who was getting ready for some sleep. Zazu remained outside the cavern, on a nearby tree, and he was aware that nobody trespassed on the lands of the Lion King. Once inside the cavern, Thembi lied down and hugged little Mufasa, while Karanga was being congratulated by the other lionesses.
“Hey, Karanga, now that you are the Queen, what are you going to do ?”, Anasa asked, looking at her admiringly.
“Well, I’m gonna take care of the cubs, and help Thembi in ruling the Kingdom…”, she said proudly.
Kuuliza nuzzled her and whispered at Karanga’s ear,
“Dear, you never told me what Thembi’s punishment was…”
“I’ll tell you later, mom.”, she answered.
Kuuliza didn’t say anything else, so Karanga lied down and kissed Hatari on the cheek. The cub answered with a purr.
Karanga smiled to the cub and told him, “You are so beautiful, my little Hatari…”
Thembi pricked his ears and listened to the lioness.
“So beautiful, yeah, right.”, he thought angrily. He hugged Mufasa again and kissed him. Looking at his son, he recalled that a very important ceremony was about to come, the presentation of the cubs. He frowned, knowing that Hatari would have to be presented also, because the second cub still had the chance of being the king in case Mufasa died. Thembi sighed and let his head rest beside the small cub. He fell asleep quickly, but his dreams seemed to be restless, because he moved his face from one side to another, and he was breathing rapidly. Karanga was still awake and looked at Thembi lovingly.
“I just hope Kitok isn’t mad about me being your wife now…”, she thought, looking at the sky through the entrance of the cavern.
Karanga sighed and lied down next to Thembi. She also hugged her favorite cub and held him close to her chest. The cub fell asleep, and after a few minutes, Karanga was resting peacefully also. She started dreaming of several things, but suddenly, she was amazed to see the silhouette of a lioness walking to her, and, even though it was a dream, the lioness seemed to be so real… Karanga looked intently at her. She recognized the face of her best friend.
“Kitok !”, she said in her dream.
Kitok smiled. “Karanga, take care of my Thembi, make him a happy lion…”, Kitok said.
“I will, Kitok, I will !”, Karanga answered.
Suddenly, Kitok’s face turned into a serious and sad expression.
“What’s wrong, Kitok ?”, Karanga asked.
Kitok sighed. “I must go now, Karanga, but I want to ask you a favor…”, Kitok said as she started fading away slowly.
“Yes, Kitok, tell me…”, Karanga said holding back tears.
“Take care of my cub…”
“Which one ?”, Karanga asked as she saw her friend disappear.
“He will have to live a tough life, always obscured by the shadow of his brother…”, Kitok said, and faded completely.
Then, Karanga woke up. She sat down and looked around breathing heavily; she could feel her heart pounding on her chest as she recalled her dream.
“I guess she was talking about Hatari…”, she thought, looking at the sleeping cub.
Karanga sighed deeply and lied down again, thinking on what Kitok had just told her. It was long before she could fall asleep again.
A couple of days went by, and the day of the presentation came. Zazu was very happy to help the King in spreading the good news. He told the animals about the ceremony, when and at what time it would be carried on. Thembi was grateful for the hornbill’s help, and got prepared for the cubs’ presentation. The sun started illuminating the savannah with its warm rays and caused Thembi and the lionesses to wake up.
“It’s the day of the ceremony !”, Sita said as she stretched herself.
The rest of the lionesses began grooming their fur as the sun continued ascending on the sky. The animals were starting to gather at Pride Rock and chatted happily about what they were just going to see. Thembi walked to the promontory and looked at the animals, who hushed immediately. Seeing that there were still lots of animals missing, he roared loudly for all the animals to hear. Some of them woke up to Thembi’s imposing roar; they hurried to clean themselves and walked as fast as they could to Pride Rock. Thembi watched as a group of zebras came galloping from the east, and some elephants approached walking slowly. The lion smiled. He stood there, watching the animals gather, and after several minutes, among all the animals present, Rafiki appeared. Thembi looked at him and smiled. He waited for the baboon to get to the cave. Rafiki got there and was greeted by the lion.
“I’m glad you came, Rafiki.”
“How could I miss this ?”, Rafiki said patting Thembi on his back.
Both animals entered the cave. Karanga was holding the two cubs between her legs, and she looked at Rafiki happily.
“Congratulations on turning the Queen.”, Rafiki said to the lioness.
She nodded and smiled, then nuzzled both cubs.
“Now, let me see…”, Rafiki said as he examined the cubs, “Which one is the first to be presented ?”
“Mufasa.”, Karanga said, nuzzling the cub.
Thembi’s chest swelled with pride.
The rest of the lionesses were watching the scene, and none of them made a single sound. The baboon anointed Mufasa’s forehead with the juice of one of his gourds, and spread some dirt on it. Mufasa stared at the baboon and smiled at him.
“Well, look at him, isn’t he sweet ?”, Rafiki said.
Karanga and Thembi nodded.
Rafiki grabbed Mufasa and took him to his chest. “Now it’s time to show you to the rest of the animals, little one.”, the baboon whispered and walked out of the cave.
Karanga and Thembi followed him.
The animals were watching expectantly, and they were happy to see the cub Rafiki was carrying. When Rafiki came to the tip of the promontory, he lifted the cub and held him up for all the animals to see.
They all cheered and clapped yelling, “Look at the Prince ! Hail to the Prince !”
The cub looked at all the animals as they bowed. He enjoyed the view, and looked from one side to another, until Rafiki held him down. At that moment, Thembi took a step forward and waited for the crowd to calm down.
As soon as silence reigned again, Thembi shouted to the crowd, “My son’s name will be Mufasa.”
The crowd cheered again shouting, “Prince Mufasa ! Prince Mufasa !”
Rafiki gave the cub to Karanga and grabbed the smaller one. The baboon anointed Hatari with the juice and dirt, but the cub seemed to be afraid of him. He growled slightly.
“Don’t worry, Hatari, I won’t hurt you.”, Rafiki said.
Hatari looked at him distrustfully, and he felt suddenly afraid when Rafiki grabbed him and took him to the tip of the promontory. The cub whined softly, even though Rafiki kept talking soothingly to him. He lifted the cub, and the crowd cheered again. At this moment, Thembi turned around and didn’t watch his second son’s presentation. The crowd hushed considerably, wondering why the King had turned around. Rafiki didn’t notice this, and he wondered why the animals had hushed. Hatari looked down at all the animals and he forgot his fright. His curiosity was piqued, and he looked at each species with interest.
“You see ? This isn’t so bad…”, Rafiki whispered at the cub’s ear.
He lowered the cub and turned around. He saw Thembi looking to the west, ignoring the cub’s presentation. The baboon frowned as he put Hatari between Karanga’s paws. She shrugged to Rafiki, without understanding Thembi’s attitude. The Queen kissed the baby lovingly.
“You were afraid, Hatari ?”, she said as Hatari purred.
“Thembi !”, Rafiki said, but the lion ignored him.
After a few seconds, the King turned around again and walked to the tip of the promontory. The animals fixed their looks upon him. Thembi cleared his throat.
“That cub’s name will be Hatari.”, he announced.
Only a few monkeys clapped, but the rest of the fauna looked at each other in complete silence, with awe.
“Hatari ?”, they asked. “But, why in the world he chose that name ?”, they wondered.
The lionesses weren’t surprised by the name, but by their King’s attitude.
Thembi continued speaking. “Well, I think that’s all, thank you everyone for coming to the presentation of my son, who, I know, will be a great King someday.”
The animals clapped at the speech, but they noticed that Thembi had spoken as if he only had one son.
They started walking away, talking among themselves about what just happened. Thembi turned to Karanga, who was looking at him with wide eyes.
“How can you do this to your own son ?”, she whispered.
Thembi rolled his eyes. “Let’s not start again, Karanga. You can do whatever you want with Hatari, but my son is Mufasa, and he will be the King. The throne is not for murderers.”
Thembi grabbed Mufasa by the neck and padded away. Hatari looked at the lion and followed him with his sight, as the King walked down the promontory. Rafiki approached Karanga and patted her head.
“Karanga, this cub will suffer a lot.” , the baboon said.
“I am afraid yes, Rafiki.”, she replied, sighing deeply.
Hatari looked up and fixed his gaze upon the baboon. Rafiki looked into his eyes. The baboon tilted his head as he looked at Hatari.
“It’s amazing…”, he said.
“What ?” Karanga asked.
“He is very little, yet he somehow knows that something is wrong…”, Rafiki said.
“How do you know ?” Karanga asked, looking at the cub.
“I can see it in his eyes. He can feel the rejection Thembi feels towards him…”
Karanga looked at Rafiki. “You think so ? He is so little to realize that…”, the lioness said.
Rafiki nodded. “He is little, but smart.”, he replied.
Karanga looked at the baby again and licked his head. The cub sighed and closed his eyes, pressing his nose against Karanga’s body.
“Well, Rafiki, I guess I must return to the cave, the baby must be hungry and Dalasini must be feeding her cubs by now…”
“Very well, Karanga. Take care of your cub, because I guess he is now yours.”, the baboon said.
She grabbed Hatari by the neck and carried him to the inside of the cave, where she ran across Thembi.
“Thembi, I think we must talk.”, she said after leaving Hatari at Dalasini’s charge.
“Okay, we’ll talk. Outside.”, he said.
They left the cave and walked a few steps away.
“Thembi, I just want to ask you a question.”
Thembi looked at her. “Ask, then.”
“You will hate your son ? You won’t love him as you love Mufasa ?”
Thembi sighed. “No I won’t, Karanga. Kitok is death because of him, so he can’t receive any love from me.”
Karanga nodded, sighing. “Well, Thembi, just promise me you will never hurt him. If you don’t love him, at least, try not to make him suffer, please.”
Thembi looked away and bit his lip.
After thinking for a moment, he said, “Okay, I’ll simply ignore him.”
Karanga closed her eyes and her ears laid back. “Ignore him, yeah. I think that will hurt him enough.” She said as she turned around and left.
Thembi looked at her as she entered the cave. Then he stared at the ground.
“Hatari has ruined my whole life. I just can’t stand the sight of him !”, he told himself, “He won’t have trouble with me as long as he stays out of my way.”
A few months went by. Thembi’s cubs were growing up quickly, as Dalasini’s lionesses did too, unfortunately, Ndani had died because she caught a strange disease a few days after they arrived to Pride Lands. Mufasa would often play with Sarabi and Sarafina. Hatari, instead, spent hours playing by himself, always longing for some company, but Thembi had —somehow— managed to make the two lioness cubs be afraid of the younger lion, therefore, Hatari always played alone and talked to himself. Karanga had already noticed that Hatari didn’t have friends, and she was very worried about it. One morning, after watching her stepson playing alone while Mufasa and the other cubs played together, Karanga decided she would talk to Hatari later and she would find out what was going on.
That same day, after playing for a little while, Hatari went for a walk beside the water hole when he heard someone approaching. He raised his head nervously, looking from side to side, until he noticed that the approaching animal was Sarabi, who was feeling thirsty and wanted to take a drink. Hatari felt suddenly nervous, and he didn’t know how to start conversation with her.
“Uh, hi, Sarabi…”, the cub said, and smiled in a friendly way.
Sarabi just looked at him and half-grinned.
She bent down and started drinking water. Hatari looked at her as he bit his lip.
“Sarabi, would you like to play with me ?”, the cub asked innocently.
She raised her head and looked at him distrustfully. “No way.”, she said, but realizing what she had just said, she tried to correct her mistake. “I mean, I—I can’t play now, I gotta go home, mom’s waiting for me…”
Hatari sighed. “It’s okay, perhaps another time ?”, he said.
Sarabi shrugged and turned around.
Hatari looked at her as she walked away, and shouted , “Hey, may I go back home with you ?”
Sarabi stopped for a minute, and, after thinking on what she should do, she said, “Well, if you want so…”
Hatari smiled and ran to her side.
Both cubs started walking in complete silence. Hatari was thinking on something to say to her, when Sarabi sighed.
Hatari looked at her. “What was that sigh for ?”
She shrugged and continued walking silently.
Hatari kept walking, wondering what was bothering the lioness. “What’s the matter, Sarabi ? You don’t want to talk ?”
She nodded no.
“Oh…”, the lion said, feeling disappointed.
He turned to her again and said, “Did I say something wrong ? Are you mad at me ? That’s why you don’t want to talk to me ? I saw you talking with Mufasa all right this morning…”
She nodded no again, and said, “Hatari, please, leave me alone.”
The cub stopped walking. “But—what did I do ? Please, I need to know !”
Sarabi looked back at him over her shoulder, and without saying a word, she turned around and left him alone.
Hatari sat down. “Gee, I must have done something terrible in order to receive this kind of treatment…”, he thought, “But, how can I say I’m sorry without even knowing what is bothering everyone… even dad seems to be disturbed by it…”
Hatari sighed. Then his face brightened up. “Hey, perhaps mom can tell me why they are all so angry with me…”
He straightened up and started running all the way back home, wondering if his stepmother could help him with this situation that was troubling his mind. After a few minutes, he arrived at Pride Rock. He could see all the lionesses lying down, some stretching, others sleeping, and, next to one big rock, there were Thembi and Karanga chatting lively. Hatari smiled, and he ran to his mother.
“Mom, mom !”, he called.
Thembi’s happiness disappeared almost immediately.
Karanga turned to his son. “What is it, dear ?”
He opened his mouth to say something, but noticing the stern look his father was giving him, he hushed.
“What’s wrong, my cub ?”, Karanga insisted.
“I—I have this question…”, Hatari said shyly.
Karanga looked at the cub. “Well, I also have a question for you, honey. Do you want to talk in a more private place ?”, she asked.
Hatari nodded.
Karanga looked at Thembi. “I’ll be back soon.”, she told her husband.
He nodded. “Take care…”, the King said.
He had grown very fond of Karanga since she had become the queen.
“I will, Thembi. Take care of Mufasa.”, she said and walked away.
Hatari followed the lioness, but he couldn’t help looking back. He saw Thembi, looking straight at him. He shuddered.
“Oh, my, why does he scare me so much ? Isn’t he my own father ?”, he thought.
After a few seconds, Karanga sat down, making sure that there was no one nearby. Hatari sat beside her. Karanga looked at him and kissed his cheek.
“Now, tell me, what’s your question ?”
Hatari smiled. “No, you tell me yours first.”
Karanga sighed. “My little one, I have noticed something strange here…”
Hatari looked up at her. “Strange ?”, he said.
She nodded. “Mufasa plays with other cubs, and you don’t. Can you tell me why is that so ?”, Karanga asked.
Hatari looked down, sadly. “Mom, I wanted to ask you the same thing… I don’t know why the others dislike me so much… I thought you knew the answer to this problem…”
Karanga closed her eyes as she listened to the cub’s words.
“Mom, I feel—I feel so lonely sometimes, I wish I had a friend to play with…”
Karanga opened her eyes. “My Hatari, have you tried talking to the other cubs ? Sarabi, Sarafina, little Mahali…”
Hatari nodded. “Well, mom, Mahali has just been born… I tried talking to Sarabi today, but she seems to be angry with me, she told me she didn’t want to talk, and walked away. Oh, she also told me to leave her alone.” The cub said.
Karanga bit her lip thoughtfully. “Well, son, don’t worry. I’ll talk to her and I’ll see what’s bothering Sarabi. Is it okay ?”
Hatari nodded, but he had another question to make.
“Mom ?..”, he called.
“Yes ?”
Hatari looked for the exact words in order to make his question. “Could you talk to dad also ?”
Karanga held her breath.
“It is obvious that he loves Mufasa and he hates me, but I’d also like to know why, I mean, I’d like to know what I did wrong, I don’t want to make the same mistake twice…”
Karanga hugged the cub. “My dear cub, If you only knew how many nights I have spent trying to convince your father that you are not a murderer…”, she thought.
Holding back tears, Karanga said, “Okay, son, I will talk with him also.”
“Thanks, mom !”, he said hugging Karanga’s foreleg.
“C’mon, Hatari, give me a kiss.”, she said as she bent down.
Hatari kissed her lovingly, and then stared at her.
“What are you looking at, honey ?”, Karanga asked.
Hatari smiled. “I was just wondering… was my real mom as pretty as you are?”, he asked innocently.
Karanga laughed out loud. “No, son, your mother was much prettier than me… your father loved her greatly, and I bet he still loves her…”, she said.
The two lions started walking back o the cave.
“Mommy Karanga, what happened to my real mother ? All I know is that she died, but I don’t know how or when…”
“Well, Hatari, it is a very long story, but I will tell you this: Your mother loves you dearly, she told me so in a dream…”
“In a dream ? That’s great !”, the cub said enthusiastically.
“Yes, so, don’t worry about her death, we must worry about dinner, you know how angry your father gets when he is hungry… Now that’s something to worry about !”, she said laughing.
The cub laughed out loud too.
“I love you mom.”, he said, purring softly.
“I love you too, my baby.”, she said, licking the young lion’s head. “Come on, let’s go home.”
Hatari walked by her side obediently. “Mom… I’d really like to have a friend to play with… do you think Sarabi and Sarafina will play with me after you talk to them ?”
“Oh, so you want me to talk to the rest of the cubs also ? Okay, I will. I promise you, my son, you will have a playmate in no time.”
“Thanks, mom.”, Hatari said.
After a few minutes they arrived to Pride Rock, where the lionesses were getting prepared for the hunt.
“Now, Hatari, go with your brother while I hunt something special for you, okay ?”
Hatari nodded, but he added in a low whisper, “Please, whatever special treat you bring to me, hide it from dad, you know he will give it to Mufasa…”
Karanga sighed. “Don’t worry, son. Even though your father doesn’t let you eat until the end, I will never let you go hungry. Never.”
Hatari looked up and stared at her face. “You really like me, don’t you ?”, he said smiling.
“Why, of course I like you ! Now, let me go hunting or nobody will get special treats tonight, huh ?”
“Yes, mom.”, he said, and ran happily to where Mufasa was playing.
Karanga looked at the cub with deep love.
“Hey, Karanga, are you coming or not !”, Kuuliza called.
Karanga turned around and faced her mother.
“Coming, mom.”, the queen said and started off with the other lionesses.
Thembi roared good bye from the promontory, and the lionesses looked back smiling. The king sat there, waiting for the lionesses to return, and, without interest, he saw Hatari approaching his brother. Thembi listened to his sons’ conversation.
“Hey, Mufasa, guess what mommy Karanga just told me ?”
Mufasa looked at him. “What did she tell you ?”, he asked walking to his brother.
“She told me that she would talk to Sarabi and the other cubs about what was going on.”
“Cool !”, Mufasa said, and he added, “I asked Sarabi about it today, but she said she couldn’t tell.”
Thembi pricked his ears as he tried to listen better.
Hatari sighed, and looked at his brother.
“Wow, Mufasa, just look at you, you are so strong and cool… I bet that’s why the lionesses don’t like me, I am all skinny…”, Hatari said, comparing his small, slim figure with his brother’s, who was brawny and strong.
Mufasa grinned. “Oh, come on, brother, that’s not the reason… there must be something you did, and you don’t even remember…”
“But I didn’t do anything ! Promise !”, Hatari said, looking worried.
Thembi half-smiled. “They don’t like you because you are a murderer, what did you expect ?”, Thembi whispered.
The cubs didn’t hear their father mumbling and continued talking.
“Hey, maybe it’s because you said something nasty to them…”
“Mufasa, you know I seldom speak to the other cubs, and when I do, I try to be as friendly as I can…”
Mufasa sat down thoughtfully. “Well, Hatari, you might just wait to hear what Karanga tells you…”
Hatari looked at the ground thoughtfully. “Brother… how does it feel to have friends ?”
Thembi sighed when he heard this question.
“Well, Hatari, friends… well, friends are great, they are with you always, they help you, they listen to your problems and try to help…”
Hatari’s eyes began to shine with tears. “That sounds so nice, Mufasa, really, you are so lucky…”, the younger cub said.
“Don’t worry, Hatari, you will find friends very soon, I know.”, Mufasa said nuzzling his brother.
Hatari tried to keep his tears inside and smiled. “Thanks, brother.”
Mufasa looked up. “Hey, look, here comes Anasa with her new cubs.”
Hatari looked in the same direction.
“Yeah, her cubs are small—hey, look, here comes Sarabi, and Sarafina also…”, Hatari said, moving his tail from side to side nervously.
Suddenly, Mufasa had an idea. “Hey, Hatari, I know what we’ll do.”
“What ?”, Hatari asked, but his brother didn’t answer.
Sarabi and Sarafina walked to the future king. “Hi, Mufasa, we went for a walk with Anasa and her babies…”
“I’m glad you are back.” Mufasa said.
Hatari remained silent, licking one of his paws, trying to appear nonchalant.
“So, girls, wanna play something ?”, Mufasa asked.
“Yeah !”, the lionesses answered in unison.
“Okay, but this time, Hatari is playing with us.”
The lionesses’ happiness faded quickly.
“Hatari ?”, Sarabi asked nervously.
“Yeah, my brother likes to play also, and I don’t see anything wrong with him, I guess he can play all right.”
Hatari looked at his brother and smiled.
“So, that means I can play ?”, the small cub asked.
Sarafina opened her mouth to say something when she realized that Thembi was almost above them, listening to their conversation. The young lioness remembered the instructions Thembi had given her a few months ago.
Closing her eyes for an instant, she said, “Mufasa, if you’re brother’s playing, then I am not.”
“Me neither.”, Sarafina added.
Hatari’s ears went back and his tail drooped.
“Well, Mufasa, I guess this wasn’t such a good idea after all…”, the cub said and turned around, walking away.
“Wait, brother…”, Mufasa called, but Hatari, knowing that he was about to cry, started running.
Thembi followed him with his sight and smiled. Then he looked at the young lionesses.
“Very well done, my girls. You are obedient, and that is a great quality in a queen… because I’m sure that one of you will be the next Queen of Pride Lands…”, Thembi told himself.
He stretched himself and yawned. Then he continued listening to Mufasa’s conversation with the lionesses.
“Why do you treat him like that ? !”, Mufasa demanded.
Sarafina and Sarabi looked at each other.
“We can’t tell you, Mufasa, really.”, Sarafina said.
“Well, just look how you made him feel ! He is lonely, and you don’t care a bit about him ! How can you be so cruel ?”, Mufasa shouted and walked away.
Sarabi and Sarafina sighed and looked at each other again, but they pricked their ears when they heard Thembi calling them.
“Sarabi, Sarafina, come here, please.”, Thembi said.
“We’re coming, your majesty.”, Sarabi shouted.
They climbed the promontory and walked to Thembi’s side.
“Come here, girls, sit down.”
The lionesses sat down obediently.
“I noticed that you are obeying my orders. I am very glad about that.”
“We know that you have your reasons for acting this way, majesty, but we really feel bad about hurting Hatari’s feelings, now even Mufasa is angry with us.”, Sarabi said.
Sarafina nodded. “We don’t like making Hatari feel bad…”
“Well, don’t worry about Mufasa, he won’t be angry with you because I’ll talk to him later. And forget about Hatari for a minute. Now I want to discuss another subject with you.”, the King said, looking straight at them.
The lionesses turned to each other and shrugged.
“Girls, you like this place ?”, Thembi asked.
The cubs looked around.
“Yes, sure do !”, Sarafina answered.
“And,”, Thembi added, “Will you feel sad when you leave ?”
The sisters looked at each other again. Then looked at Thembi, with wide eyes.
“Why must we leave ?”, Sarabi asked.
“Well,”, Thembi said, knowing he now had the situation under his control.
“Your mother wants to return to her pride, but… I love you girls as if you were my daughters, I’d really like you to stay…”
Sarabi looked a little confused. “Gee, I don’t want to go, I like it here, I have my friends, I have Mufasa…”, Sarabi thought.
Then she looked at the King. “Well, your highness, I’ll try to persuade my mom of staying here…”
Thembi smiled inwardly. “Oh, my small lionesses… I really appreciate if you do that, I’d suffer greatly if you go away. Mufasa will suffer too…”
Sarafina looked at her sister and said, “Hey, Sarabi, we’ll talk to mom, right ? We must stay here, we don’t want go away from here, this is our home…”
Sarabi nodded.
Thembi smiled. “Okay, girls, now go and play. Try not to worry too much, I have a feeling that you are going to stay here…”
The lionesses smiled and walked away from the promontory, talking about what Thembi had just said.
As Thembi saw them leave, he couldn’t help but chuckle. “That’s the way everything should be done, _my_ way.”, he thought, smiling.
He liked everything done as he wanted it to be. Thembi liked Dalasini, and he was aware that if she left, there would be three lionesses less for his pride. Dalasini was a good hunter and a kind lioness. And something that Thembi liked in her was that she seemed to ignore Hatari also, not paying attention to him unless when it was feed time. She seemed to have preference for Mufasa, though she had never said so. Thembi was determined to make Dalasini stay with his pride, even if he had to use Dalasini’s daughters for his purpose.
Hatari was walking slowly, sobbing. He came to a stop and sat down, trying to control himself.
“They all hate me…”, he thought.
He was deeply hurt by Sarabi’s words, but after a few minutes, he calmed down. He looked at the sky. It was beginning to grow dark, and the stars were making their apparition slowly, first one there, then another one over there…
As Hatari looked at them, he asked himself, “I wonder what those things are… Would they be some kind of bird ?”
He shook his head as if to say no. “No, birds are always moving, these are steady, always in the same place…”, he thought, looking at the sky intently.
That was his way of learning. He was afraid to ask his father, and so, he learned about things by watching their behavior, their shape, their size…
In the distance, Hatari could hear Thembi roaring. The cub turned his face to Pride Rock , noticing that the lionesses were returning from the hunt, victorious. He sighed.
“I shouldn’t hurry the way back home.”, he said, looking at the ground. “After all, I must wait until Dad, Mufasa and the lionesses eat first…”
His stomach rumbled.
“Oh, but I’m so hungry…”
Hatari stood up and started walking back to Pride Rock.
Even though his mind was troubled, he tried to hide this as best as he could, so when he arrived to where Thembi was feasting, Hatari smiled to the lionesses and greeted them politely.
“Hi all, did you have a nice day ?”
“Well, Hatari, we almost lost our prey today, but we managed to hunt this zebra…”, Huria replied as she licked her paw repeatedly.
The rest of the lionesses remained silent.
Karanga looked at the cub and whispered at his ear, “Are you hungry ?”
Hatari nodded.
“Well, don’t worry, son. Thembi will finish soon and I’ll save for you a nice piece of meat. Would you like that ?”
“Yes.”, Hatari said.
He purred softly, but stopped doing so when he saw Mufasa and the two lioness cubs approaching.
“What is it, dear ?”, Karanga asked, sensing that her cub was restless by some reason.
Hatari closed his eyes and snuggled next to Karanga’s paws.
“Here they come.”, he said, sighing.
Karanga licked his head quickly and looked at the approaching cubs.
“Hey, dad, I’m hungry too ! Hurry up, I want to eat also !”, Mufasa said jokingly as he teased his father by nipping his tail and climbing on his mane while he ate.
Karanga looked very worried about this. “Mufasa, come here, you know you shouldn’t get near your father while he is eating !”
Thembi raised his head from the c