The Lion King

Chapter 1 - Brothers

Chapter 1

Dreams. What were dreams? Were they worth anything? Anything at all? At every turn in his life, he pondered these questions. More often than not, he considered giving up, leaving himself to die beneath the sun's scorching hot rays. His dreams were worth nothing. The ceremony had made sure of that. And now his life was about as worthless as his dreams.

A squeak distracted the lion from his thoughts, and he opened one droopy eyelid, his instincts beginning to surface. There, standing perfectly still on the floor of the cave, was a mouse. A large mouse at that. Chubby, furry, and as gray as early dawn.

The lion licked his lips, fantasizing the taste of blood.

The mouse was getting up on its hind legs now, sniffing the air, its little nose twitching.

The lion was no longer lying down. Now he was standing.

Satisfied, the mouse sat back on its haunches and gave its face a quick grooming.

The lion lifted one clubbed paw, slowly, carefully.

The mouse blinked contentedly, the rolls of fat in its stomach settling around its feet as it made itself more comfortable on the floor of the cave.

How ignorant such small creatures could be.

WHOMP!

A satisfying squeal echoed through the cave. Face set in a frown, the lion drew his paw up, up, up until the helpless mouse was dangling in front of his face. He watched the tiny creature struggle, almost contemplatively, disinterested in its frantic wails for help. Perhaps, just this once, he was the one with the upper paw.

"Life's not fair, is it?" he asked the mouse as it continued to struggle. "You see, I..." He paused, considering. "Well, I...shall never be king."

The mouse wriggled out of his grasp and began to scramble across his giant paw, desperate for an escape. The lion watched it, amused, only to feel disgruntled when it found its way to the edge of his claws. The small creature waggled its haunches, leaped, and then found itself snagged once more in the lion's claws.

"And you," the lion continued, snickering at the creature's failure to escape. "Shall never see the light of another day." The laughter dropped from his face, and he opened his jaws wide. "Adieu."

Slowly, he began to lower the mouse toward his extended tongue. As he did, it shrieked with terror.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play with your food?"

The lion paused, mouse still in paw, and then sighed heavily.

"What do you want?" he demanded irritably, the annoyance clear in his voice. His paw lowered, squashing the mouse against the floor of the cave.

Zazu skittered closer, trying to get the lion to look at him. His sky-colored wings twitched testily.

"I'm here to announce that King Mufasa's on his way," he quipped, bowing briefly over one wing. Looking up again, he added, "So you better have a good excuse for missing the ceremony this morning."

As the bird spoke, the mouse suddenly scurried out from underneath the lion's paw and darted across the cave to a thin crack in the wall, disappearing into the shadows. The lion watched it go.

"Oh, now look, Zazu," he complained. "You made me lose my lunch."

At this, the hornbill laughed.

"Ha, you'll lose more than that when the king gets through with you!" he jeered. "He's as mad as a hippo with a hernia."

For a moment, the lion was tempted to rake his claws across Zazu's beak. That would shut him up for good. Then he decided that a bit of fright might direct his anger in a different direction.