Fireside

King of the Creatures

There was a Lion, a Meerkat, and a Gazelle. Each had been selected to be the hero of their kind, for each species was indeed in need of a hero. A drought had settled over the land and all had suffered. It was said that one would gain the respect of all others and would be the king of the creatures.

Gazelle, who was prideful and arrogant, had these aspirations for himself alone. Lion, who was courageous and humble, put his people first. Meerkat, who was timid and gentle, agreed to try to find a solution, for the sake of his family.

It came time for the current king, Stag, to meet with the chosen heroes. Stag was old and frail, his horns no longer strong and his bones like rotted wood. His reign had been long and peaceful but had long since expired. A new ruler was demanded, to answer the needs of the creatures.

Stag knew what ruler each hero would make. He was wise beyond measure, as was well known, and he saw through Gazelle's pride and arrogance to the cowardice within. He saw through Lion's courage and humility to his helpful soul. He saw through Meerkat's timidness and gentle demeanor to the fear beneath the surface.

The three each were told to search in every place possible for the solution. Each left with a boost of confidence, certain they would be the victor, in the end.

"I am the best!" Gazelle crowed. "I am witty and I will use my intelligence to find a solution! Lion, you have nothing but brawn! Meerkat, you are nothing but claws! I shall find the solution!"

"I am better still!" Meerkat shot back. "It will be I who finds the solution, Gazelle, because I know the land! I dig with these claws and I shall dig until the water comes to me!"

"I do not care who finds the solution," said modest Lion. "I only care that the creatures are watered and that they may live."

Gazelle and Meerkat did not take him seriously because of this. They did not consider him a worthy opponent. So as they searched, they sneered at his efforts and called them for nothing.

Each of the three searched every area familiar to them a thousand times and a thousand times over again. And yet they found nothing. Meerkat's claws grew dull and short. Gazelle's cowardice got the best of him in many caves and hollows where darkness lurked. Lion's courage did nothing for him the empty plains which he searched.

Still Gazelle and Meerkat continued to sneer at Lion, each claiming they knew where the water was, that they could make it appear. But it was Lion who found the solution.

"We stay in our own territory, comfortable in the areas we know," Lion said to himself one day, realizing such as he padded alongside a dried-up riverbed. "Perhaps if we take a step out of what we know, we will find water!" Lion was excited by his thought and rushed to find Gazelle and Meerkat to tell them.

But when they heard, they only laughed.

"Ha! You do not take this seriously, Lion," Gazelle scoffed, trying to regain his lost pride from his earlier run-in with a cheetah, "so I will not take your advice. It is fool's advice."

"Do not take his words to heart, Lion," Meerkat soothed. "But we can not look elsewhere. There is nowhere else to go."

Lion was not to be dissuaded. "That is only because you do not open your eyes to look."

So Lion set off, determined to follow his plan. He journeyed long and far, following dried up rivers and dusty paths. He searched for fresh plant life and other animals. Along his journey, he met none. And then he began to smell something strange—the sharp tang of salt. He hurried forward, his loping gait becoming a run.

His paws hit sand and he reached a beach. His golden-amber eyes took in the massive stretch of blue that melded with the sky somewhere along the horizon. Lion raced forward, eager to drink to replenish his tired muscles, eager to taste this fresh water and help his people. He knelt to drink.

Lion leaped back with a snarl. The water was as salty in taste as the air in smell and Lion knew this water was of no use to him. He continued on, never straying far from the golden beach for he remembered that his river flowed from the ocean. Perhaps he could find a river, and maybe it would be of better use to him then the salty water he'd found.

For five days he traveled. For five days he continued his quest to save his people. On the sixth, seventh, and eighth day he slept. On the ninth, he hunted. And on the tenth, he found it. The broad river that flowed fresh and clean, wide and fast. He traveled alongside its banks, never stopping to drink for he knew he would not be satisfied with any drink until the creatures had come and drunk before him.

The river ended in a large pool, which shone in the light of the setting sun. Or rather, it had begun there. But Lion's journey ended there and he saw it as the river's end. He also saw it as the miracle the creatures so desperately needed.

Lion quickly took in his surroundings and bounded back to the creatures. He found Gazelle and Meerkat, both downtrodden. They had seemed to have shrunk into themselves. Lion guessed that the creatures were demanding answers.

Gazelle and Meerkat did not have any; but Lion did.

"I have found water! I have found water!" Lion roared.

Immediately, attention was turned to him. A deep silence hung over the crowd and Gazelle and Meerkat were stunned.

Then Gazelle scoffed, "Ha! If I did not find water, surely Lion could not have either! For I am a hero better than he."

Meerkat knew otherwise. "Gazelle, you are no hero. You are arrogant and prideful, boastful and cowardly. Your intelligence is nothing and you have no reason to brag. I am a better hero than you and Lion better than I."

Lion dipped his head to Meerkat. "I have found water," he said yet again.

Stag appeared at the edge of the crowd. "Lead us there and you will be king, brave and modest Lion."

So Lion took them to the pool and the river and the creatures rejoiced in happiness. Stag was pleased with Lion, the one hero who had shown resilience and the true qualities of a leader.

So, upon Stag's passing mere hours later, Lion was crowned king of the creatures, a jeweled crown placed upon his head, his mane displayed with pride, a scepter between his paws and his pelt was made gold.

And to this day the creatures rejoice at the name of the Lion King.