After a long day of leading the entire jungle, the Lion decided it was time for him to rest. A whole day of hunting and keeping everyone in check can even make the King of the Jungle tired. So there he slept just wishing to have some peace and quiet as a scuffle between the hippos and crocodiles during the day had worn him out.
The Lion woke the next morning and yawned, which sounded like a roar to everyone else. He had dreamed of a trouble-free, relaxing day and couldn't have been happier. “Oh please what can I do to deserve this,” the Lion thought to himself.
So, he went for his early morning walk and couldn’t help but notice the trees swaying in the wind. A strong wind could mean many things for the days to come and the Lion knew that he would need to stay focused, but he still wanted to enjoy his walk.
The Lion headed down to the pond to have a quick drink before returning back home. While he was drinking, a rustle from nearby bushes piqued his interest. Then he saw it. A yummy Gazelle. “This might not be the nicest thing to do, but a King of the Jungle’s gotta eat, right?” the Lion whispered, as he stalked over to the Gazelle.
Woosh! The Lion stopped dead as the Gazelle bolted off. First in shock, the Lion’s emotions turned to rage as he saw an Elephant running away, leaving dust in his path. Then a Fox passed. Then a Deer.
“Can I not just have one day without interruptions? All I want now is to be able to sit down and enjoy a peaceful lunch…” the Lion cried.
Sighing, he knew that he had to go and figure out why all these animals are running and running. So the Lion asked one of the Deer, “Why are you running through my pond and scaring off that lovely Gazelle?”
The Deer responded, “Well the world is falling apart! Don’t you know?”
“Well who told you that the world is falling apart? That’s ridiculous!” The Lion said, annoyed. But there was also a little part of the Lion that wished it was true, or else there would be no good reason for him to miss out on his Gazelle.
“Well I was told by the Fox, who I think was told by Elephant, and oh yeah, he was told by the Rabbit. Looks like you should talk to him!”
The Lion went to talk to the Rabbit about this 'the world is falling apart!' nonsense. When he met with the Rabbit, he asked, “Okay Rabbit I need to know exactly how you know that the world is falling apart.”
“Well, you see, I was having a lovely dream and then suddenly woke up! For some reason, I wondered what would happen to me and everyone else if the world just fell apart. Then I heard a large thud and knew the world had to be falling apart.”
“You don’t think there could be any other reason that you heard that crashing?” said the Lion as he eyed a suspicious coconut blown down from a nearby tree. He knew then that this idiotic Rabbit ruined his lunch and perfect day because a coconut fell from a tree.
“Nope! It’s gotta be the world falling apart!”
“Well Rabbit, that coconut over there could definitely make a sound loud enough to make you think the world was crumbling beneath us. Now you’ve made all these other animals run away and also ruined my day!” The Lion then sighed as there were animals over the place who he had to tell that the world was not falling apart. All he could hope for was that maybe the next day he could have a delicious lunch and a relaxing day.
Author’s Note: I wrote this story based on The Foolish, Timid Rabbit but chose to alter the perspective and point of view. The Lion’s role in the story was interesting to me so I wanted to highlight what his day was like before all the animals started running away. I added the details of his day and kept the plot after the running animals the same so that the Lion’s point of view could be seen when he talked to the Rabbit.
Image: Jungle with Lion by Henri Rousseau. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Jack, writing the story of The Foolish, Timid Rabbit from a different perspective was really creative. This story made me think about all the perspectives I don't see. I often only think about my point of view, while I can learn so many things by asking to look at a situation from someone else's eyes. Thank you for the inspiration.
ReplyDeleteHi Jack,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your take on the story. I can completely feel the Lion's exasperation and it's safe to say that I feel the same way on a regular basis. The switch in POV was a great way to make the story your own and give it new life, without actually changing the events at all. I appreciate the fresh perspective, it was really a creative way of changing the story.
Jack,
ReplyDeleteI personally loved the way you flipped the original story by utilizing a different characters point of view. I feel like I can definitely relate to this story, and that we all have been able to once. For example, there have been several times where I am trying to carry out my day, but something unexpected happens. The unexpected creates this spiral of varying situations, leading me to interact with other people to figure out a solution. But in the end, the outcome is me being overwhelmed and irritated. That is just the way life goes sometimes.
Hi Jack!
ReplyDeleteI really liked the way you told the story of the Foolish, Timid Rabbit from a different point of view. I feel like the "world falling apart" story is almost always told from the perspective of the person/animal who experiences the thud/world falling apart, so I think it was really clever of you to tell it from the point of view of the Lion! Good Job!