Prompt Me Potter Entries

The Lion and the Serpent

This is the story of the lion and the serpent.

The lion was always bragging about how quickly he could get from one place to another. He was truly the fastest runner of all his pride.

One day, serpent decided to challenge lion to a race.

The lion gladly accepted, with the understanding that if he won, he would eat the serpent. If the serpent won, he would be the new king of the jungle.

A race began at once. The lion didn't really take the race seriously, as he thought it was very ridiculous. He ran a long way, and then figured he'd have plenty of time to take a nap. Lions do tend to be lazy, and rest twenty hours each day.

Meanwhile, the serpent put his whole heart and soul into his quest. He was counting on the lion being lazy and often getting distracted, as most cats usually do. The serpent slithered along, concentrating on what he was doing. He used everything in his path to the best of his ability. Serpent skillfully pushed off any large rocks to speed him along. The strong scales on his body were perfect to give him the added friction he needed on the smoother surfaces.

Sometime later, the lion had woken up from his nap. He took time to groom his untidy hairs which had been mussed during his sleep. Baby cub had frolicked past him, which made him giggle. He got up from his comfortable spot, and play-wrestled with baby cub for a while. That made him thirsty, so he pranced over the the bubbling brook, the sound of which seemed to beckon to him. His eyes squeezed closed in a dreamy way, as he lapped up the cool and refreshing water.

Serpent was almost to the finish line. His muscles were aching, but he knew that there would be plenty of time for resting when the race was over. He also knew there would actually be plenty of time for celebrating when the race was over! There was nothing so invigorating than the feeling of accomplishment for a job well done.

Lion remembered that he was in a 'race', even though he know that there was no way a slithering serpent might have a chance to beat him. The thought made him get the giggles. He started out again to cover a bit more ground. Lioness heard him giggle, and came over. She had been hunting, so she shared a bit of her lunch with him. Lion thanked her by licking her face a little. She smiled, and said good by.

The food made lion thirsty again, so he went back to the brook. While he was there, he heard some songbirds singing. He stayed a while to listen to the concert. Their sweet tunes lulled him back to sleep.

A short while later, the sound of jungle animals cheering woke him up. He blinked a few times in confusion, then jumped to his feet. Lion saw a chimpanzee running past, so he asked him what the racket was all about. Chimpanzee told him that serpent had crossed the finish line, and was now the new king of the jungle. Lion couldn't understand what had happened. Serpent had all to do just to slither along. Lion was able to get so many other things done, that he was sure he could have made it to the finish line in time.

Serpent bragged from that day on. He was a great inspiration because he did the challenge very well. The reason was, because he is the one who is fully dedicated.

The end.