The Lion's Tale

A LION’S TALE The lion told the bear This jungle we can share If you eat only honey and fish For bees, I fear and fish, I don’t relish Although I love to play in water I stay far from the hippo’s daughter For she is very heavy, you see And forgets her weight, in moments of glee Though in the jungle, I’m king I fear thunder and streaks of lightning But I do love the pitter -patter of rain Although only from the shelter of my den Swishing my tail, pacing to and fro Sometimes, I just let myself go And the jungle trembles when it hears me roar It knows, for some reason, I am mad or sore Seeing my golden mane glinting in the sun The monkeys fall silent and stop having fun Though I love them and their mischievous ways I don’t let on; a little distance always pays I have some friends from younger days, Bristles the porcupine and an elephant called Mace We meet, deep in the jungle, overlooking a creek In a secluded place, about once a week We laze and chat till fall of night When we part, I wave till they are out of sight Then alone through the forest, I return to my den And the next morning, I sleep till well past ten When pangs of hunger, through the belly course I know it’s time to use some force It is normal for a king to track and hunt A bachelor who lives with a frail old aunt I recall, during younger days, we learnt To stalk and hunt with mommy and aunt They taught us well and to choose with care And after the kill, the meal to share Endless games of pounce, we’d play With the swishing tail of mother, as she lay With flies a buzzing in the summer heat Snapping at them with our sharp little teeth We were a family of young and old A pride, we were called, very proud and bold Haughty was our dad; we feared our father And naughty were we with our aunts and mother Many times in our reign, we have to marry And for the wives to hunt is customary They hunt together – it’s safer for them That’s why, by tradition, we maintain a harem I am king by destiny Serious am I for the world to see I must never be seen to enjoy triviality Governing a kingdom is big responsibility