In a faraway wilderness there lived a family of lions. Mommy lion, daddy lion, and two lion cubs. They were two boys. Each was completely different, even though they were born on the same day. One lion was playful and wild, always trying to learn everything. He always stuck to his mommy, watching her hunt, guard her cubs, and be brave. The other lion cub was incredibly lazy. It just slept, lay around, and waited for his mommy lioness to bring him some food.
As time went by, the time came for the lion cubs to become independent. They were grown up and now they had to start taking care of themselves and find their own lionesses. To start a family and a pack. The wilder young lion was looking forward to this. Soon, he found a beautiful lioness, settled down, and took care of her. Soon he even had his own lion cubs. He was proud of the fact that he was doing well and that he took excellent care of his pack.
His brother, the lazier young lion, didn’t feel like doing any of this, though. He just slacked off and slept. Even though he was hungry, he didn’t go hunting for food. He just complained and lamented: “It’s so terrible. What am I going to do? I’m hungry, I’m weak, and I don’t have anyone to take care of me. I’m supposed to take care of myself, they say? But I don’t want to do that!” And so he lay down beneath the nearest tree and fell asleep.
Sometime later he woke up. He was hungry but he was so weak that he couldn’t even get up. And he fell asleep from exhaustion once more. He lay beneath the tree for several days. Just because he was lazy and didn’t want to do anything, he’d become very weak and slept constantly.
After some time, hyenas passed the spot where he was sleeping a few times. These are animals which also live in the wilderness. But they aren’t very fond of lions and vice versa. Still, one hyena looked at the weakened lion. It stopped next to him and wanted to find out what was wrong with him. She sniffed at him and noticed that he wasn’t moving. Then she called out to the other hyenas in its pack: “Come help me! I think he’s sick. We have to help him!” Some of the hyenas hesitated. “But he’s a lion! We don’t talk to lions,” they shouted over one another. “Don’t be silly, he needs help. Who cares that he’s a lion. He’s an animal, like us. He’s a part of the wild. We can’t let him die here,” one of the hyenas defended the lion.
And so they finally all agreed that they would save him. They created shade for him out of leafy branches. They carried water to him and slowly, in small doses, gave him a drink. Then they also brought over food, feeding him with it. They covered him with herbs they’d collected and put a few of them in his water as well so that he would get as many vitamins as possible. They took turns guarding him. They watched over him. It was difficult, but the hyenas didn’t give up.
After some time, the lion grew a little stronger and stood up on his legs. When he found himself in a leafy shelter, under a blanket of herbs, and with water full of healthy plants, food, and only hyenas around, he startled. Then he realized what was happening and asked: “You did all this? You took such good care of me?” The hyenas nodded their heads. “But I don’t understand, lions and hyenas don’t like each other, they don’t speak to one another. So why?” the lion continued. “You were sick and every animal deserves to heal,” one of the hyenas said. The lion was ashamed now. He’d nearly died, just because of his own laziness and stubbornness. He was very grateful to the hyenas for taking care of him.
Today, this lion is all grown up. He’s grown into a beautiful and strong animal. He is surrounded by a huge pack and takes care of it with pride. And do you know who belongs to the pack? His lioness, his small cubs, and his dear hyenas. He never forgot how they’d saved his life. And what’s more, that’s how he realized that you can have friends even in places where you least expect it.
