Lions

As the sun began to sink over the horizon, I grew even more uneasy. We cheetahs prefer to hunt by day. Larger, fiercer animals often sleep during the hottest part of the day, and we don't see as well in the dark as they do. That being, it makes sense for us to catch our prey when the sun is much higher in the sky.

In the distance, I could hear the whooping of hyenas as they rallied for their next hunt. I shuddered, remembering how many siblings I had lost to the roving packs. I only had one brother left.

A blue speck fluttered overhead, landing on a tree limb just above me. "Good evening, madame!"

"Good evening, Zazu," I responded. "What brings the king's majordomo to the waterhole at such a late hour?"

"One of the cubs is missing," he informed me.

I nodded sympathetically. "A real shame, but if you'll excuse me, there's a herd of impalas just beyond that acacia grove, and they'd never expect a cheetah to attack them at such an hour, so I believe I have a good chance of gaining a meal. I haven't eaten all week!"

"Now see here!" he scolded. "It's a rather poor subject who does not care about matters of utmost importance to her king!"

"It's a rather poor king who does not care about matters of utmost importance to his subjects!" I retorted.

"The Circle of Life has given you what you need to survive," he argued. "The leopards have the ability to climb trees. The lions have their great strength. You cheetahs have your impressive speed."

"You hornbills have your long speeches," I added, rolling my eyes.

"Do you blame the king for your inability to find food?"

I shook my head. "For that, I do not blame him. It is, as you have said, all part of the Circle of Life. However, my species has nine reasons to find fault with him."

"What do you mean?!" he demanded.

"With all due respect due the king's majordomo, by the time we sort this out, the impala herd will be halfway to the gorge. The sun is also setting more quickly than I'd care to realize, and I wouldn't care to meet with any hyenas at such an hour."

As I began walking away, I heard him call, "If you see the missing lion cub, you are to inform the king at once!"

I didn't have time for this nonsense. It wasn't that I didn't care about the cub. Alone on the savanna, it would be an easy dinner for almost any creature that ate meat. However, why should I care about lion cubs when only one out of every ten cheetahs was fortunate enough to survive to adulthood, many dying within their first three months of life? I knew many lion cubs died young as well; however, since Mufasa had become king, all cubs of the pride had survived.

"Will you pity your other subjects?" one of my friends had begged him. "We cheetahs eat gazelles and other small antelope. We are usually unable to kill zebras and wildebeests as you lions do. You see we are in no competition for food. Is there nothing you can do so more cheetah cubs will be able to reach adulthood?"

"I will see what I can do," he had responded.

Perhaps he had forgotten. Perhaps more pressing issues had taken up his time. Perhaps he didn't trust cheetahs or wasn't sure what to do to help us. For whatever reason, Mufasa hadn't done anything to reduce the mortality rate among our kind, so on average, nine out of every ten cheetah cubs continued to die when they had barely begun to live. This was why every cheetah mother said our species had nine reasons to find fault with him.

Trying unsuccessfully to cast aside such cruel odds, I closed in on the herd I had been trailing. At this point, most cheetahs would crouch low to the ground and stalk their prey, one step at a time, taking several minutes to cover a short distance. Then there would be a tremendous burst of speed, perhaps followed by sheer exhaustion, but hopefully rewarded with a meal.

However, by hunting at sundown, I was already proving myself to be different than most cheetahs. Noting a low branch on the nearest tree, I slipped up as quietly as I could, hoping there were no leopards in the area who had the same idea.

"Oh no!" I exclaimed. "Not them! This is really too much!"

The impalas raised their heads and glanced around, trying to figure out who had spoken. They didn't seem too surprised to see a cheetah in a tree. After all, we can climb; we're just not nearly as skilled at it as leopards. The impalas stared at me, ready to bolt at my first movement.

"How humiliating!" I whined. "To be trapped is bad enough, but to be seen by an impala herd is unbearable!"

They continued to stare. I lowered my head and sighed, risking the chance of losing sight of the herd by turning my face away from them.

"I never thought I'd see the day!" one exclaimed. "The Circle of Life has allowed us to see a cheetah that will starve to death, although surrounded by food!"

"She won't starve," another impala argued. "Another animal will finish her off first."

"Let us be off!" one of the wiser herd members suggested. "We must be grateful that this predator is trapped, but she may find a way to free herself! If we leave at once, we should be safe when she is on the ground once more!"

"She's not going anywhere! You don't see something like this every day, and there's plenty of good grazing here!"

"No, he's right!" yet another impala argued. "Even if she can't get us, another predator will hear her complaints. It wouldn't comfort me to be eaten by a hyena rather than a cheetah!"

As they continued to debate whether or not they should stay a while or leave immediately, they didn't notice that I slowly turned to face them, inching my way along the tree limb. In a method of hunting that was rarely, if ever, used by other members of my species, I sprang from the branch, landing on the back of the nearest impala and quickly seizing its throat. As the rest of the herd fled for their lives, I prepared to enjoy what would be my first meal that week.

I had taken only a few bites before I saw a jackal running past with something in its mouth. I easily caught up to him.

"What do you have there?" I asked, running beside him easily, for his speed during a full sprint was nothing more than a light jog for me.

He stopped long enough to spit out what he was carrying. "It's a lion cub, and I'll thank you to mind your own business!"

I frowned. "I didn't know jackals ate young lions."

"It's not our typical diet," he agreed, "but hunting has been hard lately. I'll take what I can get."

The baby lion squirmed and mewed. It was still alive, and it seemed relatively unharmed.

Seeing an opportunity even better than a meal, I made an offer. "Give me the cub, and you may help yourself to the impala I have just killed."

He eyed it greedily. "What's in it for you?!"

"I've eaten too many impalas lately, and I'd give anything for something fresh and tender on the palate!"

The jackal licked his lips. "Lady, it's a bargain!"

"A real pleasure!" I smiled and picked up the lion cub.

When I had covered some distance, I found a place where hyenas would be unable to sneak up on me. Making sure no other predators were in the area, I set the cub on the ground to rest.

"Are you alright?" I asked. "Are you hurt?"

The poor little creature was crying. "Not eat me! Wan' go home! Where Mommy?!"

"Don't cry, little one." I began licking the top of its head gently. "I won't eat you. I'm going to take you back home to your mother."

Hearing a distant roar, I grinned. This was going to be easier than I thought!

"You're going to be a ransom, sweetheart," I told the cub.

"What a wansom?" it asked.

"It means I'm going to pretend to be mean, but I won't really hurt you. I just need to talk to the king."

"You talk wiff king, I go home to Mommy?"

"Of course, darling." I began singing the lullaby that I used to soothe my own cubs, and the poor baby lion began closing its eyes as it snuggled closer to me, gradually drifting off to sleep.

My song was cut short when King Mufasa came charging toward me.

"One more step, and I go for the throat!" I warned.

He snarled with rage. "Give her back!"

"No! By the laws of the great Circle of Life, I have captured my quarry. I am not required to give her back."

"Will you not obey your king?! Return the cub to her pride! Her mother is beside herself with worry!"

"I don't have to!" I retorted. "She is the only food I have captured all week!"

"You leave me no choice but to…!"

"Fight me?" I asked. "You're stronger, but I'm quicker. In the time it takes you to cover the remaining distance between us, I could kill the cub."

"What's this about?!" he demanded brusquely.

"It's as I told you. I'm hungry."

"I have a buffalo," he offered. "That's enough food to last a cheetah several days, providing she is clever enough not to have it stolen by other animals. I'll bring it here if you will return the cub."

I shook my head. "The king's word is no good."

His roar was deafening.

"You lions can't be trusted," I continued. "If you could, I would be willing to bargain with you."

The king fixed a baleful lower my direction, but I met his gaze without blinking.

"What sort of bargain?" he asked.

"If you solemnly vowed on your honor as king that neither you nor any members of your pride would kill any cheetah cubs, I would allow this lion cub to return to her mother, and I would not torment any of the other cubs."

"I give my word," he replied. "Now give me the cub."

"No." I sighed. "It's as I said. The king's word is no good. I need proof that the king remembers his promise to such a lowly subject."

"What proof did you have in mind?"

"Starting today, let a large carcass be left near the waterhole at sunset every week. It must be on the same day and at the same hour, and you must leave it in the same place. Otherwise, another animal may steal it before I so much as notice it, and I'll think you have broken your word."

I could tell Mufasa was getting tired of my demands, but he said nothing.

"When I see my meal," I continued, "I will remember that the king is still honoring his vow and that no lion in his pride will harm any young cheetahs. I will then remember my part of the bargain, and I will cause no trouble for the young lions, nor will I chase them away from their kills if I am hungry, and I will allow the very young cubs to use me as a target during their pouncing lessons."

He was still furious, but he nodded.

"However, if ever I fail to see a carcass, I will proclaim throughout the Pride Lands that King Mufasa has broken his word, and I cannot guarantee that I will be as willing to bargain the next time a lion cub's life is in my paws." I smiled. "I will meet you at the waterhole in one hour. You will bring the buffalo that you offered, and I will bring the cub."

"Unharmed!"

"Naturally," I agreed.

An hour later, the lion cub was sleeping comfortably between my paws as I sat on my favorite rock near the waterhole, watching the lionesses drag a buffalo carcass toward me.

"Is this a good location?" one asked.

I nodded. "That will do nicely. Thank you."

"Now will you please give back my cub?! I love her more than my own life!"

"Madame, she is yours, and I have not harmed her. In fact, I saved her life. The jackal who originally stole her would have killed her."

The lioness nearly cried with joy as she embraced her cub. "But if you meant her no harm, why did you…?"

"I too am a mother," I answered. "I would do anything to keep my own cubs alive, and now they are safe from lion attacks. You may think me cruel, but I don't mind being thought of as wicked, as long as I know my cubs will live."

I knew the lionesses would hate me for the rest of their lives for my evil trickery, but it didn't matter. King Mufasa had given his word that if I returned the cub to the pride unharmed, meat would be left by the waterhole each week as a sign that the cheetah cubs of the kingdom would not be killed by lions. The first phase of my plan had worked nicely.