The Lion King: Legend of Kopa

Chapter Two

A couple months later...
   Kopa's eyes slowly drifted open. The first thing he saw was his mother's soft belly, heavy with an unborn cub. (Nala had become pregnant very shortly after having Kopa so Kopa and her next cub wouldn't have too much of an age gap.)
   Kopa also saw his father, Simba, still asleep next to Nala. Simba's great mane looked very luscious; Kopa thought that he would sink deep into it if he went in there.
   When he groggily glanced around the dark den, Kopa saw that he was pretty much the only lion awake. The young cub stood up, stretched his legs, and began to creep toward the den's exit.
   The first signs of dawn were creeping into the den—warm golden light seeped through the opening, lighting up a few feet into the den before its light was swallowed by the shadows.
   Kopa nimbly exited the den, paws padding silently against the cool grey stone of Pride Rock. Suddenly he heard a familiar voice.
   "Oh my gosh, this is gonna be so freaking rad."
   Kopa turned his head to see Timon and Pumba standing several feet away, whispering. Kopa's ears perked up instinctively. He slowly made his way up to his dad's two best friends.
   "Hey, guys!" Kopa whisper-shouted as he approached Timon and Pumba.
   Both startled, Timon jumped back a bit while Pumba's large, broad head jerked up to look at the approaching prince.
   "Hey, Kopa!" Timon exclaimed quietly, using one hand to wave at him while the other was hidden behind his thin back. Pumba silently mustered a welcoming grin at Kopa. The warthog and meerkat both looked nervous.
   "Watcha got there?" Kopa asked causally.
   "Oh, uh..." Timon trailed off. Slowly, he brought his hand out from behind his back to reveal motionless snake clutched in his diminutive hand.
   Kopa gasped and cringed, only to realize it was actually a fake snake—one made from a thick vine, with tiny red berries as eyes. It did look quite real in this level of daylight though.
   "What's that for?" Kopa asked Timon, ears perked with interest.
  "Ummm..." Timon prodded Pumba with the hand that wasn't gripping the fake snake. "You tell him, Pumba."
   Pumba opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. Kopa could see the nervousness clouding the plump warthog's eyes. "We-we're going to play a prank on your father," Pumba whispered finally. Timon was still looking quite anxious.
   Kopa's tail waved excitedly. "A prank? Oh, boy! Can I help?"
   Timon nodded hastily. His shoulders relaxed and he, along with Pumba, seemed relieved that Kopa hadn't decided to go tell Simba they were about to perform a prank on him.
   "Okay then, let's boogie!" Timon whispered with enthusiasm, marching back into the den with the fake snake. Kopa and Pumba followed.
   Luckily, everyone else was still fast asleep, including Simba. Stifling giggles, Kopa, Timon, and Pumba tip toed up to Simba, who was laying on his side, eyes well shut. The three of them hesitated as Simba let out a soft, deep snore, then Timon painstakingly raised the snake above Simba's head. Finally, he let it drop onto Simba's face. Simba stirred but did not wake up. Timon placed a hand onto his mouth to muffle a giggle he couldn't stifle very well. Pumba snickered quietly, and Kopa smiled in amusement.
   Just then, as the three of them were beginning to scamper away, Nala woke up and screamed. "Simba, there's a snake on you!" She cried.
   This awoke Simba, as well as everyone else in the den. Simba jumped to his paws and stared in horror at the "snake" dangling right in front of his face, hanging from off the top of his head. "Aah!" He yelped, trying to get the snake off of him by batting a paw at it, but that hardly did any good.
   Kopa, Timon, and Pumba were no longer able to control their amusement. All three of them burst out laughing all at once, and shot out of the den together.
   The whole rest of the pride was panicking as well, terrified at the fact that there was a "snake" in the den. Lionesses pulled their cubs closer to them, shrieking in fear.
   Finally, Simba realized with another gasp that the snake was totally fake. He angrily swatted it off of him; and it rolled several feet across the stone floor of the cave. Nuka curiously sniffed at it, perplexed. Everyone else grew quiet as they too realized the snake was nothing but a silly prank.
   Just as Kopa was running away, he heard his father yell from the inside of Pride Rock: "Kopa! Come here, now!"

   He was in big trouble, that's for sure.