Lion and the Mouse

This is my quirky take on the good old tale of THE LION AND THE MOUSE!

Once Upon a time there lived a lion, Sher Khan. He loved having mice for meals. After a few weeks only Chu Cha was left. When Sher Khan came up to eat him, Chu Cha begged for his life.  “O great Sir Khan, what harm have I done to you? I am the last one of my race, so please do not eat me. Someday, I will surely be of help to you,” squeaked Chu Cha. “Ho Ho Ho! Look what do we have here? A small creature the size of my paw would help me? roared the lion. But nevertheless, I being the most magnanimous animal in the world would spare your life...” “Chu Cha sir, Chu Cha” tweeted Chu Cha. “Yes, yes, I would spare your life,” bellowed Sher Khan. One day while hunting, SK got hunted down by a hunter. He yelled for help but no animal was ready to help except for one!

Chu Cha called the news reporters to inform about the capture of the lion. Soon, it seemed as if all the world had come to see the lion. People were flocking in hundreds, clicking photos making videos and what not. Within minutes the team arrived to record the scene and it became a breaking news. Soon it was flashing on every news channel! The lion in the net became a point of discussion from newsrooms to the common man’s drawing room. As lion was an endangered species, experts felt that he belonged to the “minority community” that needed protection against its oppressors.

A search party was sent to look for the poacher. Finally, he was arrested from a small hut where he, the only bread winner of his family lived with them in the most pathetic conditions. He was apprehended “oppressing a member of the minority community.”

Sher Khan was running high on his sympathy wave created entirely by the media, hyped by the so-called expert through the debates and discussions and lapped up by the common man. Seeing his rising popularity, the opposition party approached SK to fight the coming elections. As expected, the minority won by a large majority!

He was welcomed at the party head office with great pomp and show. Sher Khan was very happy with his new found status.

As he stood there to give his victory speech, he heard a familiar squeak come from his mane. He instantly recognised it as Chu Cha’s and he remembered his words, “Someday I will surely be of help to you.”

He smiled and said, “Thank you Chu Cha!”

SARTHAK JAIN