Week 3 Story: Always a King
The mightiest of all in the animal kingdom, the lion, king
of the jungle lays at the mouth of his home, a mighty cave, dying from
sickness. Animals from far and wide come to witness their king dying and as
some show respect from fear, others take out frustration and revenge on the
lion. Boars rammed him with their tusks, Bulls attacked with horns, eagles with
claws. The lion just laid there, taking the punishment as he did not have the
strength to take them on. Finally, a Mule came from the back of the crowd, one
of the weakest animals in the kingdom, to take his turn on the dying lion. As
the mule turned to kick the lion with his hind feet, the lion growled and said “This
will be a double death” and he sprung to his feet, grabbed the shocked mule by
the neck with his powerful jaws and slammed back down to the ground.
The crowd
of the lions’ subjects just sat in silence and watched as they could see the
life leaving the lions glorious eyes as the mule took its last breath and lay
lifeless in the mighty jaws of his king. The king of the jungle released the
mule and let out one more mighty roar, reminding the jungle that even in his
dying moments, you must still respect a king. There is a difference between
respect and cowards. The lion had respect for the animals that attacked him
before the mule, that is why he did not attack them because they had stood and
fought before. As with the mule, the lion believed him to be a coward, as he
would run and hide every time the lion would come around. As he was the king of
the jungle, he would not let a coward have the satisfaction of besting him,
even in his final moments of life.
Author's Note. The original story was a lot shorter and just included the boar, bull and ass attacking the lion to settle grudges. The lion did growl "This will be a double death" but that is where the original ends. In my mind I was envisioning myself as the lion and what I would do to that type of insult and to what example should be made of the mule.
Bibliography. This story is based on the Fable "The Sick Lion" in The Fables, by Aesop, Jacobs, Joseph.
Image taken by Fuchsia Anna, Deutsch. Source Pixabay
I really enjoyed this fable type story Matthew! I love the lion as a King teaching a lesson of respect even on his death bed. The story was entertaining throughout and even reminded me a little of The lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I also like the character of the mule getting was he deserved for being a coward. I felt this story of dark but not too dark which allowed for the message to be clearly told.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this story! Lions are one of my favorite animals, so reading a story about with them was a lot of fun! The message was very clear even though I had no idea of the context of the original text. Maybe next time include a short summary in your author's note so that readers can understand where your story came from!
ReplyDeleteI also liked the picture you used. I traveled to Lucerne, Switzerland this year and there is a famous lion carved into a wall in a pose similar to the picture that you posted!
Hello Matthew! I enjoyed this story. You explained the lions thoughts and position very well. I am wondering why the mule decided to partake in these attacks against the lion. I am also wondering why the other animals were attacking the lion. It sounded like there were other animals who respected the lion; why didn't they stop the ones who were hurting him? I am also wondering what the moral of this story is.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I have to ask, did the original fable have the moral as, "There is a difference between respect and cowards."? Because when I read that part, I thought that there is also a difference between kicking and emus. Just meaning that one of those things is an action and one is a noun, and maybe it's a stretch to compare them. The story itself was enjoyable, however. Since you mentioned that the Lion did not attack because he was not strong enough, I wasn't expecting the outcome to the story. Good turn of events.
ReplyDeleteHey Matthew, what an interesting twist on this story! I think that the personality of the lion really came out in your descriptions. I am curious what the overall moral of the story was. But, I think the ending was really honorable as the lion was not going to let his image be broken by one of the most coward animal in his kingdom. Keep up the great storytelling!
ReplyDeleteHi Matthew! I actually read this same exact story for my own readings that week. I thought it was very interesting and I was excited when I recognized parts of your story. Like you, I stayed with the original plot as it was already a great story. Thanks for sharing!
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