The lion cub that could not roar

The lion cub that could not roar

There once were seven lion cubs that lived out on the great African Savannah. The lion cubs played in the yellow grass all day long. But in the evening they had to go to school. That's when their dad instructed them in the art of roars. "The lion is the king," he said to his small children. "And the king must never be wrong, never be weak or do anything clumsily. But most importantly: Nobody must laugh at the lion. If that happens, the lion must make a roar so scary that nobody ever dares to laugh at him again. Lets start practising."

The lion cubs came to their father one by one and roared: "Miauu, miauuu, miauu," they miaowed. Their father nodded, pleased he knew that such miaowing would become real lion roars by the time they were grown up lions. But the last lion cob, the one who was called Kay, could not say more than: "Miiii."

"That won't do," his dad said. "Let me hear you roar once more: Roar Kay!" Kay drew a deep breath and made a real lion grimace, but nothing was to be heard but: "Miiiiiii." "That will never develop into a real lion's roar," the lion father said sadly whilst the other lion cubs laughed."

Kay was sad when the others laughed. That was the very worst that could happen to a lion. He drew his breath once more and tried with all his might to roar. "Miiiiiii," he said and the lion cubs laughed even more.

The days went by, and the hot summer became autumn. The lion cubs were all grown up, and some could make nearly real lion roars. But Kay still couldn't manage more than his miserable squeaking noise. On night, after the others had made their goodnight-roar, the lion father took Kay with him for a walk. "If you can't manage to roar properly," he said with tears in his eyes, "you must leave us and not come back before you have shown Africa's most dangerous animals that you can manage without roaring."

Kay knew this would happen. Lions are such proud animals that they don't tolerate faults. He blinked away a couple of tears and hugged his father for the very last time. "Good bye Kay," his daddy said and swallowed while he saw his lion boy padding away.

Kay spent the whole night walking, and when the morning broke he had come to the jungle. Soon he came to a wide river and Kay went down to drink. Then he heard a whisper: "Hi, what's your name?" Kay looked about for a long time until he saw two eyes peeking at him from the waterline. "My name is Kay, who are you?" "I'm the ferry," the crocodile said. "Sit on my back and I'll row you over to the other side."

"Thanks a lot," Kay said, he had never heard about crocodiles. With a smile on his face he sat down on the crocodile's back and was ferried out on the river. But suddenly the crocodile jumped so that Kay leapt up in the air - and was swallowed. It came as such a surprise to Kay that he didn't realise what had happened until he was in the crocodile's stomach. It was absolutely dark in there, and Kay was very frightened. If I could just roar, Kay thought. Surely the ferry would let me out again.

But since Kay couldn't roar, there were only the familiar squeaking noises to be heard. And that sound continued to come out of him when the crocodile came home to his family. The crocodile mother smiled: "What is it you have eaten for breakfast Oscar?" "It's a lion," Oscar said proudly. When he claimed to have eaten a lion his brothers and sisters laughed. "Ha, ha, ha, there are only mice-sounds coming from you - and you say you have eaten a lion."

"But I have eaten a lion," Oscar insisted. "It's absolutely true." "But we don't believe you," his big brother said. "You don't dare to eat a lion," his baby sister said. "Stupid Oscar, stupid Oscar, daren't eat lions, only eat mice."

Oscar was so angry that he decided to show them. He put his hand deep down in his crocodile mouth and threw up Kay. Kay flew out of the crocodiles mouth as a rocket, and over the river so that all the crocodiles could se that it really was a lion Oscar had eaten.

Kay was so happy that his squeaking noises had saved him from the crocodiles that he waved to them before he set off back home again. When his mother and father and all his brothers and sisters learned how he had managed without roaring, they were silent with admiration - and they never ever laughed at his squeaking noises again.