But no elephant could be seen anywhere near that gathering.
The Lion King usually said that elephants were too afraid of him to show at his
court. What often flummoxed most of the animals was the fact that the Lion King
always gave this statement in absence of elephants but never in presence of
even a solitary elephant.
While most of the animals which walked on land either
preferred to remain in close proximity of the Lion King, those which were not
fully dependent on land for survival kept a safe distance from the group which
was often called the ‘ruling clan’ of the jungle. Birds seldom came down on
land as the whole sky has been their fiefdom. Monkeys, however, occasionally
went on to attend the King’s court in case of an opportunity to gorge on some
leftover food. Although monkeys had had enough supply of fresh fruits to last
their lifetime, they never missed a chance to grab a few bites of juicy steaks.
Whenever the Lion King showed his expertise at killing an
unsuspecting prey, all other animals erupted in a huge round of applause. What
was surprising was that such a crowd of admirers also included the herbivores
which primarily served as fodder for the carnivores.
Two cunning foxes, who had been recently promoted to the post
of literary advisors to Lion King, had been obediently doing the duty of
heaping all praise on those herbivores which clapped on the Lion King’s brutal
display of power. Such pronouncements were often followed by a chorus by all
others who just repeated each and every word uttered by those foxes.
It was one of those days when summer season was on its last
leg and rainy season was around the corner. The dry heat was being replaced
with intense heat with lot of humidity. Not a single leaf of any tree was even
fluttering because moisture was proving to be too heavy for the wind to get
enough acceleration.
The Lion King was perched as usual on the huge rock that
served as his unchallenged throne. His wife, the Lioness Queen; was also
sitting nearby but the hot and humid weather was too much to allow them any semblance
of romance. The Lion King had been profusely sweating and his otherwise flowing
mane were appearing as if he had just been out of shower. The Lioness Queen and
other animals were also suffering from the humid weather but none had the guts
to complain because the Lion King had been behaving as if he was at complete
peace with himself.
The Lion King said, “A lion does not remain a lion if he
gets afraid of the Sun. Even the Sun cannot beat the heat of a lion.”
Hearing that statement, all other animals erupted in unison,
“Hail the Lion King! Hail the Lion King! Long live the Lion King! Our King is
too hot to handle even by the Sun. Hurray!”
But as they say even a lion becomes a pussy when his wife is
around. The Lioness Queen was not impressed at all. She rose on her feet in a
huff and said, “You son of a #%&**@! You are stinking like a rotten swine.
I am going to take a dip in the pond. The weather is too hot to handle.”
When the Lioness Queen jumped down from that elevated seat,
and started to hurriedly walk towards the pond, the Lion King meekly followed
his better half. He had no other option than to follow his wife’s command. All
other animals followed the King and the Queen; maintaining a safe distance from
them.
It did not take them too long to reach the pond. The Lioness
Queen jumped in the pond; followed by the Lion King. The Lion King showed his
expertise at swimming under water, swimming above water, and floating on water.
The Lioness Queen went a step ahead and displayed her acrobatic skills while
swimming. All the animals; in the audience; watched with rapt attention, and
sang hosannas that is often reserved for superstars in sporting arena. Some of the
animals were so overpowered by emotions that tears rolled down their eyes.
After about an hour of enjoying the pure bliss of swimming
amidst the lush green surrounding, the royal couple left the pond so that their
subjects could enjoy the pleasures of the ‘water park’ in the jungle. It is
said that swimming is a good exercise, and it was proved by the fact that the
Lion King and his wife were feeling hunger pangs within no time of coming out
of the pond. The Lion King pounced at an unsuspecting deer to help it reach the
heavenly abode. Then he ordered a leopard to carry the carcass up to his den.
That order was duly obeyed by the leopard. On reaching his den, the Lion King
and his wife gorged on the freshly killed prey. After feeling fully satiated,
the Lion King belched like a glutton and left remaining portion of the carcass.
All the carnivores which had been there jumped on the carcass to enjoy the
feast.
One day, the Lion King was busy in boasting about many of
his tales of bravery, his band of hangers on was busy in heaping praise on him.
While all the courtiers were happily enjoying those tales of bravery, a party
pooper came from somewhere on that place. It was a small animal that barked
like a dog and looked utterly malnourished. Looking at that strange creature,
the Lion King wondered, “Who is this fellow? I have never seen him in this forest.
It must be a spy from the enemy kingdom.”
A fox gave a thorough look and said, “Your Excellency, I
think it is a dog.”
The Lion King shouted at the fox and said, “It appears you
don’t want to hold on to your dear life. I have seen so many dogs in my life.
They are darker in shade and always appear to be well fed. I sometimes even
feel jealous at their hunting skill and teamwork.”
The fox bowed in front of the King and said, “Your
Excellency, I owe my existence to you. But if you don’t believe me you are free
to ask any monkey to confirm. I have seen these monkeys often crossing the
boundary, and going beyond the limit of this jungle.”
A monkey was promptly called to confirm that observation by
the fox. The monkey saluted the king with all the style and pomp befitting the
royalty. The monkey said, “O King of Kings! This fox telling nothing but truth.
I often visit nearby villages. No! No! It is never an endeavor to cross the
limit. We go there for food. You know everything. Nothing is hidden from you. In
fact, humans make some of the tastiest food in the world. We need to be careful
because humans are so cruel that they immediately chase us away. But sometimes,
we succeed in getting better of them and get success in stealing food from
them. I can even bring juicy kebabs and chicken lollipops for you; if you
wish.”
The Lion King roared in anger and said, “Nobody is
interested in hearing tales of your daylight robbery. Will you answer the
question that was asked?”
The monkey quickly jumped on a branch; in order to be safe.
He said, “Please forgive me. I have strayed from the topic. I have seen similar
dogs living in those villages. I don’t know but somehow these dogs are too
smart even for humans. They live in peaceful coexistence with humans. Whenever
we try to enter a village, these obnoxious creatures create too much ruckus and
alert humans.”
Hearing that, the Lion King was forced to think about that
new visitor. He asked, “What does our Chief Judicial Minister think about this
creature? What should be done with him?”
The Chief Judicial Minister; who was a bear reacted as if he
had been woken from hibernation. He said, “Your Excellency! I have also been to
some villages. But believe me, I am not as frequent a visitor as these monkeys.
I just go there to steal honey. However, it is because of my intelligence that
your Excellency has given me the huge responsibility of heading such an
important department. These are often called pariah dogs, and there are valid
reasons behind this nomenclature. They always move in pack. I wonder how this
specimen dared to come here as a solo traveller. Nevertheless, once a feral dog
starts barking, all other of his ilk follow the suit and create so much
cacophony that it can be too much for anyone’s comfort. They are useless
fellow. They keep sleeping throughout the day, and roaming around the whole
village throughout the night. They are good for nothing. I don’t know why these
humans allow them anywhere near the village. This dog should not be allowed to
go back, rather it should be immediately executed right here and right now. Our
failure to do so would set a bad precedent. He will come back with more of his
type. That will disturb the peace in this jungle. A problem related to Law
& Order must be nipped in bud.”
The Lion King patiently listened to the whole narrative, and
replied, “That sounds like a real legal eagle. I am pleased that I have
appointed you as the Chief Judicial Minister. I am in total agreement with what
you have said, and decided. Killing this utterly disgusting creature is below
my dignity. I think a leopard is fit to do the honors.”
The Lion King then roared and shouted, “Kill this pariah dog
right now.”
The Lioness Queen had been keenly listening to the
proceeding of the kangaroo court. She yawned, sat up and said, “It is written
in scriptures that you should kill only in two conditions. One of the
conditions is when you are hungry, and another condition is when you need to
save your life. So, my opinion is different. Don’t kill this poor chap. He may
have reached this situation by mistake. But it is important to teach him a
lesson so that he does not dare to repeat this mistake.”
No male species in this world can raise a voice of dissent
against the lady of his house. The Lion King was no exception. The Lion King
said, “It is for no reason that I always admire your wisdom my love. Please
elaborate on a suitable punishment for this buffoon.”
After that the Lion Queen described a particular method of
punishment that was more of humiliation than punishment. A monkey jumped down
from a branch and volunteered to do the honor. He smeared charcoal on that
dog’s face. After that, he chomped off a significant portion of that dog’s
tail. Monkey’s sharp canines were enough to accomplish that part. After that,
about a hundred monkeys ran after that dog in order to push him back to the
place he belonged to. The monkeys kept on hooting at top of their voices to add
insult to that dog’s injury.
When the poor dog returned to a safer environment, he heaved
a sigh of relief. But that relief was short lived because fellow dogs in his
village started barking at him. His changed appearance was proving to be too
much for the in-built face recognition systems of his brethren. But once that
dog threw a jet of urine stream on a nearby lamppost, all other dogs
immediately recognized his odor. That was enough to calm them down. When enquired,
the dog; who had safely come back from the jungle; told the whole story. Every other
dog sympathized with him, and took a vow to teach a lesson to wild animals. They
said in unison, “A wild animal doesn’t understand the value of a civilized society.
Now it becomes our burden to teach them the right way of behavior.”
On the other side of the border, those wild animals were
busy enjoying their life. They were feeling too secure and smug under the reign
of their beloved Lion King. At the end of a day, the Lion King had retired to
his den to enjoy a good night’s sleep. Most of the remaining animals followed
the suit but some of them tried to keep awake in order to guard the valuable
life of their king.
It was at the stroke of midnight that the Lion King’s
slumber was interrupted by a strange sound of howling. He woke up the Lioness
Queen and asked, “Can you hear this howling? Can you guess the animal?”
The Lioness Queen strained her ears, and said, “It appears
to be an unfamiliar sound, but is somewhat similar to the way a jackal howls.”
The howling did not stop but grew with passage of every
minute. Within about a quarter of an hour, it grew into a chorus as if many
animals had been howling at one go. The intensity of howling kept on growing
stronger as if those animals had been marching towards the den of Lion King. The
King’s den was surrounded by hundreds of those howlers in no time. The night
was so dark that even the nocturnal animals failed to recognize them. They
could only spot hundreds of pairs of eyes which were shining because of
reflection of moonlight. Every coterie of the Lion King was woken by that time
and each of them had entered the den out of fear for their life. The Lion King
was dripping with sweat and was shivering as if he was running with high fever.
Every animal in that den was trying to hold its breath in order to stop
whatever thumping sound was coming from their hearts.
That spectacle continued for about fifteen minutes; followed
by a deadly silence. Those invaders had silently retreated to the place they
had come from.
Once a relative calm returned to that place, a panther
asked, “Your Excellency was sweating a lot. It must be because of the
unpleasant weather. You were shivering as well. It was a clear indication that our
lord was hardly able to control his anger.”
The Lion King replied as if he suddenly came out of his
stupor. He said, “Umm! Yes! You are absolutely right. I could have single
handedly tackled those infiltrators. But I did not want to scare all the kids
here. It could give a bad impression on their impressionable mind.”
The spectacle was repeated on next night as well. But number
of invaders was almost double than what it was on last night. From that night
onwards, the spectacle continued; and number of invaders kept on increasing. On
every day after that night, the Lion King did not venture out of his den. The responsibility
of getting a prey for the King was given to his close associates such as a
handful of foxes and leopards. Cunning foxes lured an unsuspecting prey, and
leopards stealthily killed the prey. As none of the animals had the ability and
wherewithal of killing a prey large enough to satiate the Lion King’s appetite,
the king had been forced to follow a diet that was less in protein and more in
calcium. Anyone who has read an elementary lesson in biology must be aware that
calcium primarily comes from bones. Whenever the Lion King asked about a
carcass with less meat and more bones, his associates always came with the same
reply. They said, “Your Excellency must be aware about the rough terrain in
this jungle. The meat gets separated while we hurriedly carry the carcass to
deliver it to you.”
But improving health condition of those cunning foxes and
leopards indicated to the contrary of what they had been claiming. Meanwhile,
the Lion King and his queen were getting weaker by every passing day. After about
a month, the Lion King became so frail that he was left with little strength in
his jaws to tear flesh from bones. All other animals had deserted his den by
that time. Some monkeys were telling that they had left in search of a new king
who could be strong enough to provide the required protection. Some other
monkeys were telling that they had left for the enemy territory which was ruled
by a more powerful king.
The Lion King was surviving without food for so many days
that his brain stopped working and he began to hallucinate. Some monkeys were
moved at looking at his deplorable condition. A monkey jumped from a branch,
sat near the Lion King and said, “Your Excellency! May I suggest a particular
course of action for you?”
When the Lion King nodded in affirmation, the monkey said, “I
think you should go to the nearby village. Humans are not bad at heart. They usually
help any soul in need. Some of them may show pity on you, and may offer
something to eat.”
Looking at the Lion King’s hesitation, the monkey said, “If
you are afraid, we will assure you our company during the march to the village.
But we cannot assure you anything beyond that. These human beings are too
smart. They cannot run like us. They don’t have sharp teeth or fangs. But they
have made so many arms and ammunition that they can easily kill even an
elephant.”
The Lion King paused for some time and then said, “It is
better to die while trying than die without doing anything.”
The Lion King walked down to the village; with his queen in
tow. All those monkeys became their companions in that march; howling and
shouting to boost their morale. The moment Lion King reached the village he was
taken aback by seeing a familiar creature in his front. It was a pariah dog.
Most of its tail was absent from its rear end. Before the Lion King could even
think to react, the dog started barking and howling. Within no time, hundreds
of dogs surrounded the Lion King and his queen. The chorus of their howling was
too much to bear.
While the Lion King was looking for an escape route, he
found himself surrounded by a huge bunch of humans. Almost all of them were
carrying some weapons; such as spear, stick, sword, axe, etc. While the dogs
kept on howling and barking, all those humans continued thrashing the Lion King
and his queen. The poor lion did not get time to run for his life and was
remorselessly killed by those hooligans. His queen met the same fate.
All those monkeys who had accompanied the king of their
jungle first erupted in joy and then scurried back to the jungle.
