The Lion and the Two Women
My story flies and flies and lands on a lion and two women.
In those days, water was a scarce resource. To find it, one had to wake up before dawn and walk far to reach the water source.
At that time, animals lived side by side with humans. They were not far from one another, and animals could even understand human language.
One day, the women of a village organized to leave very early the following morning to fetch water. The news spread from mouth to ear throughout the huts of the village.
But the woman failed to notice that a lion had overheard their conversation. Lurking in the shadows, the great beast began to reflect.
He told himself that the path to the well would be the perfect opportunity to find a good meal. He thus decided to set a trap for the women. Before the rooster even began to crow, the lion approached the village. Speaking in a sweet, human voice, he called to the women to wake them, as if one of them were walking through the alleys to remind them of their meeting.
By the strange power of metamorphosis, the lion had taken the appearance of a human being. Tricked by this familiar voice, the women woke. They took their water basins and began the trip to the well, speaking among themselves in the cool morning air. Among them walked the lion, concealed beneath the features of a woman. The group continued calmly when the lion, despite his human form, suddenly let out a low roar.
The women stopped. They looked at each other for a long moment. Something was off. Without a word, they set their empty basins on the ground. They turned to the unknown woman who had walked with them, unaware that she was the lion.
“Watch our basins for a moment,” they said. “We’re going into the brush to relieve ourselves.”
The women were dressed in white cloth. They tied their fabrics around a very spiky tree, giving it the appearance of two squatting silhouettes. Then they hid, holding their breath.
During this, the lion waited. The women were slow to return. Impatient, the lion abandoned his disguise and took his true form. He then followed their footprints to find them. From afar, he spotted the white cloth that enveloped the tree trunk. In the twilight of dawn, he believed they were two women squatting. His hunting urges surged. Without hesitation, the lion leaped with all his might to trap his prey. But it was not the women who awaited him. The tree trunk, hard and sharp, pierced his stomach. The injury was fatal, and the lion took his last breath at the foot of the tree. And so, the formidable hunter perished.
The two women, hidden in the bush, saw everything. Thanks to their calm demeanor, intelligence, and cunning, they had saved their lives.
Since that day, the elders have taught the young, “One should never announce too early what they plan to do the following day. In this world, certain ears listen in silence, and some dangers are born from careless words.”