“Busara said, ‘I have seen the Lord, my lady. Everything I once believed has been turned aside. I am empty as a gourd in the dry season. Fill me with the knowledge of this Aiheu, that I may keep the Lord in my heart all my days.’

“And Asumini smiled. ‘Blessed are you, Busara! The peace you seek within is a far greater gift than any peace from without. You have chosen the best part of the kill, and I will feed you till your hunger is satisfied.’ And to this day there has been a mandrill from my village to do the presentation.”

Lisani looked at Rafiki intently. “Will you see Aiheu when it happens?”

“Probably. I did when I presented Simba. But my dear, I see Aiheu in many places. I see him in the way you smile at me. There is so much wonder in the world, that if you lived a thousand lifetimes you could not witness it all. And in all of it, you can find God.”

Kombi eased around the rock with Togo. “What??” Togo asked, exasperated. “Are you going to tell me or ain’tcha??”

Kombi looked both ways and drew close. “Keep it down!” he whispered. “I couldn’t tell you in front of Mom.”

“Oh?”

Kombi smiled. “So help me you better not go spreading this around. First you have to promise not to tell another soul as long as you live.”

“That good, eh?”

“Better.”

“OK, I promise.”

Kombi leaned over and half-whispered, “I promised Lisani I wouldn’t tell anyone else, so you better mean it.”

“Ahem!” Uzuri said.

“Oh!” Kombi looked up. “Uh, hi, Mom.”

“Hi yourself! What makes you think Togo won’t tell when it’s the very first thing YOU wanted to do?”

“Well...uh...I trust him.”

“The way Lisani trusted you?”

Kombi’s ears flattened down and his tail sagged.

“Now what am I going to do with you two??” Uzuri plopped down and sighed. But rather than let her frustration show, she tried a less direct approach. “Tell you what. I have this story I was just coming to tell you. It’s just a little racy, but I think you’re old enough to handle it, especially since Miss Priss is not here.”

Anxious to escape being disciplined, and more than a little curious, Togo and Kombi listened intently.

Uzuri bent down and in a lower voice than usual, said, “Mano and Minshasa went by the river to make love in the evening cool. King Bobo, a curious lion, saw them and rather than turn away he hid in the reeds and watched to amuse himself with their passions.”

“Whoa!” Kombi said. “This IS racy!”

“Do you think you can handle it?”

“Sure! I was just saying it was racy.” He strutted about, chin up. “We’re all old enough here, aren’t we, Togo?”

Togo just stared. “You mean they were getting down?”

Uzuri nodded gravely. “Way down.” She looked at them both intently. “At last, Mano heard his muffled laughter from the reeds and confronted him angrily, that he should surely die.

“Bobo pled for his life, falling before Minshasa with tears that she should have mercy on him.

“Minshasa said, "Peace, husband. He merely finds me beautiful and wants to look upon my body. Let him see me and depart."

"’Your beauty is great, and a lion may wish to look upon it and live for what lion would not wish to look upon your beauty! But he has shamed our modesty!’

“But Minshasa took pity on the miserable Bobo and said, ‘I will send you away with a warning. Never speak of this to anyone, that you may not shame our modesty again, or you shall surely die.’

“Mano was content with the judgment and let Bobo depart in peace. But it was a terrible secret and it burned within him so strongly that he felt he must tell it or burst. So he went to a baobab tree and into its hollow whispered, ‘Behold, I have seen Mano crouching with Minshasa by the river!’ He had a good laugh and felt much relieved.

“Aiheu hears all things, even that which is spoken in secret, and he changed King Bobo, but he was very subtle and Bobo went back to his pride unsuspecting.

“But when the pride sisters saw Bobo coming, one of the lionesses shouted, ‘Look, a gazelle! We shall eat well tonight!’

“Bobo ran with all he had in him, but he was still quickly overtaken and slain by his own kindred.”

“Oh wow,” Kombi said in shock. “Then it’s a good thing I didn’t tell Togo what I heard today, isn’t it?”

Uzuri looked at him wonderingly. “What was that??”

“Sorry, Mom. I’m not telling ANYONE now!”

Ahadi and Akase took Mufasa aside. “Your mantlement is one week away,” Ahadi said with a nervous smile. “You may want to pledge your love to a lioness. It is time for you to know some things before you embark on your life as an adult.”

“Uh, Dad, we already talked about--you know what.”

Ahadi smiled. “You know what? You mean making love? Go ahead and say it. Don’t be shy.”

“OK. We already talked about making love. Remember?”

Ahadi said, “Yes, I remember. But there’s more to making love than going through the motions.” He laughed self-consciously. “Sorry. Bad choice of words.”

“There’s more?”

“Much more, son. That’s why we’re going to tell you the story of Kigali and Lisha. I’ll speak for Kigali, and your Mom will speak for Lisha. My parents did the same thing for me when I was your age.”

“They did?”

“Yes, my son.” Ahadi nuzzled him. “Just sit there and pay attention. You might learn something.”