Deep in the jungle, night’s black cloak draped the forest in a serene, wonderful sense of calm. Every single bird and animal stopped singing or prowling through the forest and returned to their nests or caves for a restful night. No sound was to be heard except for the gentle call of an owl which had flown all the way there from the British countryside. Inside this forest, two of its strangest residents were preparing for bed too.
Orko climbed stealthily and steadily up a large tree, with his baby lioness cub sister Furaha holding on for dear life, her tiny arms wrapped around Orko’s non-existent neck. Some of the branches were slippy and covered in moss, but Orko gracefully climbed up every branch using the light levitation he knew all too well.
Once up in this tree, they found their nest - it was all lined with soft moss and gentle leaves, just perfect for a brother and his baby sister. Orko gently floated and landed cross legged onto the moss. Taking Furaha off his back, he lifted her high into the air, then cuddled her. The feeling was too much for baby Furaha to resist, and she joined in with all the gentle cuddles and softness. She stroked her older brother’s ears and hugged him tight.
Then, Orko lay down and lifted Furaha into the air again, this time it caused a whole flock of butterflies to flitter all around them. The butterflies’ silky wings were coloured blue, and one landed on Furaha’s nose. Orko chuckled, and Furaha tried to blow it off. Prrrfff!
Orko and Furaha cuddled together in their mossy nest, happy and delighted with their feral lives together in this peaceful forest. They looked out, deeper into the jungle, and saw a tribe of apes cuddling together for their well earned rest too. The feeling of their fuzzy black fur against one another made it comfortable for even the littlest apes to sleep. Two of the apes, a mother and a baby, were touching hands, and Orko and Furaha were doing it too. Orko lay there still and content, Furaha’s paws touched his own smooth blue hands, showing that although they are different, underneath the skin, they are the same. And they might be different from apes, but early apes evolved into humans long ago, so it’s no wonder apes are our closest living relatives.
He turned to Furaha sleepily, and said this one life lesson to her that she’ll remember for the rest of her life:
“Humans are different than apes because of their ability to think for themselves and their intelligence. But because you have the mind of a human, you won’t be like other lions. You will always be a human lioness.”
And so, with minds full of happy thoughts and feelings, the two friends settled down to sleep, as the dark night sky filled with a menagerie of twinkling stars.