A beautiful princess would go to the jungle daily to fetch water from the river for her people. One day the Lion went up to the river to get a drink and was entranced by the beautiful princess. Worried that he might frighten the princess, the Lion calmly greeted the princess from a distance. “Hello, miss, please to not be afraid I will not harm you,” said the Lion.
The princess smiled and greeted the Lion telling him, “Hello, sir, I am not frightened but delighted to meet the King of the Jungle.” From that moment on the two would meet at the river to talk. The Lion loved to see the princess light up when he told her about his travels to other countries for his kingly duties. “What country did you have to go to for this trip?” asked the princess.
“For this trip, I traveled to Egypt. To get there I had to go through a desert but I was astonished at the construction of the pyramids,” explained the Lion.
Confused the princess asked, “What is a pyramid?” The Lion explained to the princess what the pyramids were and told her about other things in Egypt that she had never heard of.
Confused the princess asked, “What is a pyramid?” The Lion explained to the princess what the pyramids were and told her about other things in Egypt that she had never heard of.
While on his trips the Lion would try to complete his job as fast as possible. He always had the princess on his mind and wanted to get back home to tell her about where he had been. On one of his trips the Lion found an irreplaceable piece of amber. The beautiful caramel color reminded him of the princess’s eyes. The Lion began to see that the princess was more than a friend to him. Once he returned, he gave the amber stone to the princess as a gift.
Gradually, the princess began to have feelings for the Lion. She loved his kindness for the other animals in the jungle. She also loved his knowledge of foreign countries and wished she could go on his travels with him. She was afraid to tell her parents about the Lion. She knew her parents would never approve of their love. Even though the Lion was a king, he was still an animal in their eyes.
One day while the Lion and the princess were talking he said, “I love you. Please don’t go back to the village but instead stay with me and become my wife. We will no longer have to be apart and can travel the world together.” The princess was overjoyed and consented to marry the Lion. The princess happily replied, “Yes, yes. But I need to go back into the village to grab my bag. It has my most valuable treasure.”
As the princess tried to sneak back into the village, her parents snatched her and tied her up. The king and queen had noticed that the princess’s trips to get water were growing longer and longer so they had a spy watching her. They forbade the princess from seeing the Lion ever again and from ever leaving the village. The princess’s duty was to lead the village, not to leave the village and travel with an animal.
The Lion waited days for the princess to come back to the river but she never returned. Instead a new boy was coming from the village to fetch water but when the Lion tried to talk with the boy he ran back to the village scared. The Lion called for the Mongoose. He needed a favor to hopefully save his beautiful princess. The Lion knew the Mongoose was sneaky but greedy, and would help any animal for a price.
The Lion asked the Mongoose to burrow into the village and find the princess and free her. The Mongoose agreed but only if the Lion agreed to pay him with all of the Lion’s teeth and claws. For the Mongoose knew that if they Lion did not have his teeth and claws he could no longer be the King of the Jungle. “NO!” the Lion angrily growled. “How am I supposed to survive without my teeth and claws?” But the Mongoose did not care and began to go away.
The Lion agreed to the deal. Even if he was to perish at least his beautiful princess would be free but first he wanted to make sure the princess made it out of the village safely. The Mongoose burrowed into the village and found the princess locked inside a hut. When the Mongoose explained that the Lion was waiting for her out in the jungle so that they could run away, the princess could not contain her joy.
She grabbed her bag with her most valuable treasure and the Mongoose helped her sneak out into the jungle to meet the Lion. When the princess and the Mongoose arrived, the princess and Lion embraced each other, so happy to finally be back together. The Mongoose then asked the Lion for his payment. Sadly, the Lion started to pull out his teeth. The princess, confused, urged him to stop until the Lion explained the deal he has made with the Mongoose.
The princess asked the Mongoose if he would instead take her priceless amber stone as payment for rescuing her. Eagerly the Mongoose took the deal. The princess pulled out the amber stone from her bag and gave it to the Mongoose who rushed away with his payment. The Lion was able to keep his teeth and claws. He and the princess could now be together.
Love can conquer all boundaries!
Author’s Notes: This story was based on one of The Fables of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs called The Lion in Love. In the original fable the Lion falls in love with a beautiful woman and asks her parents if he can marry her. Her parents were afraid of what the Lion would do to them if they told him “no” so they agreed but only if he removed his teeth and claws so that he could not hurt their daughter. The Lion removed his teeth and claws so that he could marry the woman. He goes to the parents again who then laugh at him and tell him “no” but now they had no fear that he could hurt them. The story ends with “Love can tame the wildest.” In my story, I chose to make the woman a princess since the Lion is the King of the Jungle. I also took a theme of the princess going to get water from the river daily after the Disney movie “The Jungle Book.” Like Mowgli the Lion watches the princess get water and is mesmerized by her beauty but Lion has the courage to talk to the princess. I also wanted to bring in another animal that would still cause the Lion to have to sacrifice his claws and teeth for his love. I choose to use the Mongoose because they are an animal that burrows and could therefore sneak into the village without being detected. Unlike the original story I wanted my couple to end up together despite their many differences, which is why there is a stone to replace the teeth and claws. The stone is made from amber which is known for its calming proprieties, like how the Lion and princess were so at ease together. I hope you have enjoyed my story and would love to hear feedback!
