“Turn around, Sarabi. Tell me what you see.”

She looked over her shoulder and there on the ground was a sleeping lioness. Only she was not asleep.

“We are already together, Sassie.”

For many moments, all they could do was share their joy, playing like cubs, nuzzling and planting warm lion kisses. Then Mufasa called in a lioness, one whose face was strange and yet familiar. “Shanni, this is your mother.”

“Shanni?” Sarabi looked at her closely. “Such a lioness, now? And so beautiful.”

“Like her mother, ” Mufasa said with a smile. And yet in the ocean depth of their joy, one small thing appeared to trouble Mufasa—something evident now that Ka could face another Ka and thought became reality.

“What’s wrong? You are worried, my husband?”

“Another old friend waits for you. Someone who’s afraid to say hello.”

Sheepishly, into the entrance of the cave strode a lion of lesser build but great beauty. The depth of his love and humility gave back to his face the lost innocence of his cubhood and washed away the hardness of his former life. “Muffy, have you told her about me?”

Sarabi stared at Taka. “It’s you.”

Taka’s ears drooped and his tail hung limply. “What was I thinking coming here.” He started back out of the cave.

“Wait.”

Sarabi went to Taka and looked into his eyes. “Look at me.”

Taka looked away and shuddered. “Do not pity me. Even in death I cannot bear it.”

Sarabi took her paw and turned Taka to face her. “Look at me.”

He opened his eyes and looked into hers. “I see the same old Taka that used to pull my tail when I wasn’t looking.” She smiled. “You have found peace. I often prayed that you would.” She nuzzled him and kissed his sad face.

Taka felt warm tears run down his cheeks. “Look Muffy, when she cries she is so beautiful. Isn’t she beautiful, Muffy?”

Mufasa smiled. “Sarabi, you are beautiful. Come on, my friends. Let’s show her around.”

THE END: THE CHRONICLES OF THE PRIDE LANDS

From the start there was Aiheu the Beautiful, the first of the living and the cause of all life. Aiheu had many spirit children, and he shared his love and knowledge with them. It was a happy time, but still unfulfilling for the lives of spirit children were of thought alone. And Aiheu sensed that his children were longing for something more.

So Aiheu went to the world of Ma’at (soil) which at that time was completely dark and sterile. He put two lights in the heavens, the sun and moon. And the brightness of the sun caused the water to form clouds, and wherever the clouds rained on the dry earth, green plants grew. And so in time the world of Ma’at was changed from ugliness into beauty.

And Aiheu summoned his spirit children to show them his work. The beauty of the land was the first thing they had ever seen, and they were very pleased. For a time, they explored the world, some preferring the skies, others the ground, others the trees, and others the waters. And yet they were still unfulfilled, for the sun did not warm them, the breeze did not cool them nor the waters wash them, and they could not feel the grass beneath their feet. And they asked Aiheu, “What does this land have to do with us? We are strangers here.” So Aiheu moistened some soil with water, and with his hands shaped the first bodies. Some were fish, others birds, and others the animals that walked on land and climbed trees, each according to the domains they were created for. When he breathed into the bodies, they took on life and became dwelling places for spirit children. Because they were finally part of the world, they could feel the warm sun, the cool breeze, the waters and the grass. They had these and many other pleasures, but they were given a warning. The price of pleasure is often pain. And it was not long until they had all felt pain, yet they assured Aiheu that pleasure was worth the price. This was the first agreement, that pleasure is worth pain.

Those bodies were not permanent. Earth, water and air may only rest apart. When they are mixed, they become restless and strive to separate. That is why death and decay are part of the world, for the elements will eventually prevail. Aiheu knew this, so he took steps to prevent the world from becoming sterile. He went to the Lake of Mara and changed its waters into the first milk. And all animals were brought together to drink from it.

Milk fertilizes animals the way rain fertilizes plants, for it makes soil, water and air content to mix for a time. And all those who drank milk obtained the gift to produce milk in their bodies. The milk of the male could awaken new life in his mate, and the milk of the female could sustain it after birth. For no living thing except Aiheu can create life from the ground by breathing into it. This was the second agreement, that life should always continue.

Now the earth was very large, but it was not without limits. So Aiheu offered his children two paths. Either they could choose who may carry on the line, or they could all be treated equally and Aiheu would find another way to control them. And they all said, “Treat us equally, ” for no one wanted to be the one to live alone. So Aiheu chose some animals to be hunters and others to be hunted that they may keep the earth in balance. Thus arose all the peoples and their ways that carry on to this day. This was the third agreement, that a full life involves struggle.

And when Aiheu had set this into motion, he showed them that it was not random, but part of his plan from the beginning. The cycles of birth, growth, death, and decay were like four legs—they had to work together to travel anywhere. Yet from his steadfast love, he would have his children accept the three agreements of their own free will.

Some beings did not choose to accept these agreements. These spirit children were the first Nisei, which are the good spirits which oversee the balances of creation. They are often called the minor gods, though they are truly brothers to the animals. The major gods arose from the lake of milk, and they were all kindly like Aiheu, until Koko the gorilla threw mud into the lake and spoiled the milk. Thus rose the polluted Makei, the evil spirits. But Koko confessed what he did to Aiheu, and he was pardoned. Aiheu gave him authority over the mud to purge the lake, and he became the keeper of the lake until it was finally drained at the end of the first era. Because he drank from the milk each day, he only began to age when the lake was no more, and his days were two hundred and seventy years.

I would not have you ignorant concerning death, for Aiheu has provided for his children. When an animal dies whose life is acceptable to God, it becomes one of the second Nisei. They oversee the welfare of those they left behind. The greatest of the second Nisei are the Great Kings of the Past and those whom Aiheu has blessed for good service. Koko became one of the second Nisei. And then there are animals whose deeds are constantly evil, and they join the Makei. These are doomed to walk the earth without bodies until they find the image of Aiheu within themselves and seek redemption through service. They are called the Makei for their suffering makes Aiheu weep.

The first children of Aiheu were close to their God and to each other, for their spirits had roamed free. But their children who were born to bodies of soil were not able to hear the words of the Lord. To keep the peoples from losing touch with him entirely, Aiheu anointed some children with holy chrisum that from birth they hear him when he speaks. And these he called shamans. They were strictly charged to bring the word of God to his peoples with honesty and unselfishness. A lying shaman is worse than the Makei, and Aiheu will not weep for them nor will he repent of his anger.