The Sad Lion - A Fable

Once upon a time, there was a lion, a baby lion known as the king of the jungle. His jungle was wonderful, with big maples, big palm trees, big oaks… We could find long rivers and large lakes where we could drink the best fresh water and, then, dive into a deep and transparent ocean. The little lion loved to play in the green grass and enjoy the view of his own paradise.
One day, a group of koalas came to live in the jungle. They were children and they liked to discover the world. Koalas were cute and very smart. However, the baby lion didn’t want to join them. Without a quick reason, the sweet lion started crying a little bit everyday and ceased to rule the jungle.
Day after day, koalas were becoming bigger and when the lion opened his eyes, he couldn’t see his land. He saw penguins in the savanna, hyenas in the ice, he didn’t find the trees, he couldn’t look for the pure sky… The baby lion kept crying more and more… but koalas didn’t care and went on joking. They ate the grass, they made the water dirty, they made the air heavy.
Suddenly, a baby koala woke up and said he didn’t like their Earth, their home. And, slowly, koalas started to notice the way they had put the jungle. So, some of them tried to rearrange everything they had changed. But the lion kept on crying…
Koalas saw a completely changed world and they knew who had done it. Now, it was too late… the sky was not blue, clouds were not fluffy, trees were not breathing anymore. They turned around and the animals of that grey land run away and hid themselves. The sun was strong, it was learning how to kill; the rain was acid, it was cold and not sweet; there were no dreams anymore. But koalas didn’t beg the forgiveness. The small lion cried, he also did it because of the sun. Oh, poor creature, he cried so much that he made the oceans get higher… So higher that, one day, all the jungle flushed away and there was no sadness anymore.

Joana Silva
Sara Pereira
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