King Lion and the New Law of the Jungle

Many years ago a long drought befell the animal kingdom. Although during this time all animals were grass-eaters, a rumour began circulating that a number of animals had their relatives disappear without trace. As there was little grass to support all the animals, this was put down to deaths through starvation. However, not even a trace of their carcasses or bones could be found and this created great fear among the animals, as they tried to cope with hunger and the unexplained calamity.

Animals grew thin and weak, but for some strange reason Leopard, queen Lioness and their cubs looked much stronger and healthier despite the dry spell. A strong suspicion developed when Hedgehog whispered to Eagle, that he thought he had seen the queen of the jungle carrying the carcass of Zebra’s five month old baby early the previous day. He could not swear by it, since his short-sightedness had let him down before. However, no animal was brave enough to raise the matter with king Lion. He had grown very temperamental of late, and not even the queen could approach him. Only the king’s spokesperson Hare still had his ear.

The crisis was now getting out of hand, and so Giraffe decided to approach Hare to intercede on behalf of the animals. He asked him to raise the animals’ concerns with the king.

‘Comrade Hare, does king lion know that his kingdom faces extinction from hunger and unexplained disappearance of animals?’ He asked, ‘Our wise men said that an early start is better than seeking the help of a medicine man later.’

He went on to request Hare to impress upon king lion to act fast, or else the animals would be left with no choice but to take the law into their hands. The animals had not seen their king for nearly half of the period of the severe drought. Was he ill?

When Hare informed King Lion about the grumbling within the kingdom, he agreed to call a meeting the following day. Animals were asked to assemble under the big Nandi flame tree, near the king’s lair, before the heat of the great savannah sun became unbearable. The animals agreed that Eagle and Monkey would speak on their behalf. Hedgehog, who had recently claimed to have witnessed the killing of Zebra’s baby, had also mysteriously disappeared without trace.

The assembly of the animal kingdom that day was well attended. Baboon, Chimpanzee, Elephant, Rhinoceros and their families, though frail looking, all attended. Even the Warthog, known for his short memory, remembered to attend. They stood or sat in a semi-circle, several paces way from the king’s lair waiting for Lion to come out and address them. Anxiety and uncertainty grew as they waited, for seemingly king Lion had decided to call a meeting of his ruling council before the addressing the gathering.

The heat of the sun was already scotching the golden coloured grassland. As far as the eye could see, there appeared a silvery mirage of an expansive glittering lake. The atmosphere was stifled with a near oppressive expectation. The weaver birds who a few minutes ago were chirping in glee were now silently huddled together, their heads drooping in drowsiness.

After what seemed like eternity Hare emerged to announce the arrival of king Lion. There was a stir when Lion eventually emerged flanked by his ruling council. The king and his council, consisting of Leopard, Snake, Cheetah, Vulture and Wolf all appeared in robust health and cheer. There was a sudden murmur of disapproval when an uncharacteristically well-fed queen Lioness with her chubby cubs following closely, sat next to the king.

Lion, visibly annoyed by this disrespect to the queen, asked Hare to call the meeting to order. Wasting no time, Hare began by introducing the agenda thus:

‘Your majesty, gathered here are your loyal people who have requested your wise council regarding the drought and the future of their kingdom. Our people say that a messenger is never stoned: I have conveyed to you our people’s wish. Equally two of your most loyal servants; Eagle and Monkey will present their grievances.’ He said bowing deferentially before calling Eagle to present the first item of the agenda.

Everyone looked around and craned their necks to see where Eagle was. Flapping his powerful wings to announce his presence, the meeting was surprised to see Eagle patched atop the Nandi flame tree. Beside him, looking superior and relaxed sat the Monkey. Nobody had noticed their arrival nor seen them climbing the tree. Eagle cleared his throat and addressed the gathering:

‘Your majesty and fellow animals, this is a sad moment in our kingdom’, he began. ‘Not only have the gods shut heavens to deny us rain, but some malicious being among us is also keen to ensure that our kingdom is completely destroyed.’

Shouts of approval greeted his declaration. Pausing to let his words sink home, he went on.

‘There is no smoke without a fire’, he continued. ‘We have lately seen how even the quail has began to climb a tree. Therefore, the sooner we stop this evil once and for all, the better.’

Speaking in parables for most of his time Eagle narrated the following story:

Many years ago when there was a drought like this one, Magak and Kiswaro were bossom friends. Magak had five beautiful children, while Kiswaro had two. Magak loved Kiswaro’s children like her own, and they in turn adored her. Kiswaro, though strong and courageous, was not a likeable woman. She was greedy and cruel, and all the children including her own, detested her.

Both women agreed to take turns in looking for food for themselves, and their children. So when Magak was out looking for food, Kiswaro would take care of all the children. Soon Kiswaro would take her turn for the long and tedious day of searching for food. She would come back tired and grumbling. She would often be heard complaining that Magak’s children gobbled all the food, and left her children starving.

Her complaints and cruelty made Magak very sad, as she trusted Kiswaro and valued their friendship. She knew that the children always looked forward to her turn of staying at home with them, and this made Kiswaro even more jealous and horrible. So she hatched a plan to teach Magak and her children a lesson they would never forget. When it was her turn to look after the children, she asked all the children to go out to the nearby forest to look for firewood. The children were excited about this because they knew that this would keep them away from aunt Kiswaro for a while. As soon as they stepped out of the door she remembered something and called out:

‘Pino please come back and give me a hand. The rest of you just go ahead, Pino will catch up with you shortly.’ She said.

She quickly filled the largest cooking pot with water and asked Pino, who was Magak’s oldest daughter to prepare the fireplace. They were going to make a delicious meal in readiness for Magaks’ return. As soon as the fire was lit she placed the pot on fire and boiled the water. When it was hot and boiling, she quickly threw Pino into it and covered it. She soon feasted on her delicacy and made sure that no trace of her heinous plot was left visible. When the children came back from the forest, Pino was not with them, and Kiswaro hypocritically demanded to know where she was. Kiswaro would not let them say that Pino never joined them in the forest.

In a little while, Magak arrived back from her daylong task of hunting for food. She immediately noticed the gloom that hung around the house, and she demanded to know what had happened. Kiswaro quickly explained that she had sent the children to collect firewood and when they came back, Pino was missing. A mounted search for the lost girl found no trace of her anywhere, and for several days, a grieving Magak and Kiswaro opted to suspend the daylong search for food. This, however, could not go on for long, as they all needed food to survive.

When they resumed taking turns looking for food, tragedy again struck Magak when Pino's fate befell two of her other children. This time round Magak decided not to entrust the future of her children in the hands of another person. She decided to consult a medicineman, to help her unravel the mystery of her childrens’ disappearance. When he came, Simba Wanje proclaimed that his medicine was so potent that it had no remedy; once it was administered it was irreversable. So he requested anyone who knew he was guilty to confess because it was better to confess guilt, than to face the consequences of his medicine.

He asked everyone present to chew some leaves, and asked them to jump over a three-legged stool in turn. Soon it was the turn of the proud and stubborn Kiswaro. As soon as she jumped over the stool, she turned into an ugly looking toad. The swollen and agitated toad croaked and shamefully leaped into a nearby bush, ending a longstanding friendship.

For years people talked about nothing else, but how the evil of greed and betrayal of trust ended in tragedy. Today in our kingdom there is a pregnant air of mistrust, engendered by avarice and lack of consideration for others. Before I ask our friend Monkey to submit his side of the story, I will end by saying this: The ram’s fatty tail is usually compared to another. If there is any lesson in that narrative, it is that nothing is new here, but we can learn from that mistake.

It was apparent right from the beginning, that king Lion was not comfortable with Eagle’s narrative. Monkey watched him keenly as the story unfolded. Monkey’s unannounced position beside Eagle irritated him even more. At every turn of the narrative, he appeared to be mocking king Lion.

Monkey thought that at the beginning of the story, Lion appeared amused, and then became bewildered, and his face changed from consternation to open rage. Sitting upright, and with his tail slightly lifted off the ground, he wagged it gently from side to side. Tension was evident in his councils’ faces when they realised that the narrative had an uncanny familiarity. As the story approached its climax, queen Lioness excused herself and went into their lair.

At this point, it was evident that Monkey would not be given a chance to speak to the gathering. He and other animals were so keen watching king Lion’s reaction to the story to take notice of what was silently unfolding. Most members of the council had slowly moved from their seats, and were slowly taking positions outside the arena; literally forming a ring around the undiscerning animal assembly.

At the end of Eagle’s story, king Lion suddenly roared in rage, and terror paralyzed everyone. A few feet from king Lion Zebra had timidly sat listening. Too terrified to flee, and totally unnerved by the roar, she sprawled to the ground. This seemed to the opportunity that king Lion was waiting for. In lightening speed he landed onto her exposed back, and sank his teeth into her neck. Other members of the council seemed to be on cue, with victims squirming under their grip. For the rest of the assembly, it was survival for the fittest.

A new law of the jungle had been declared, thought the Eagle as she quickly flew away.