“But you cannot do this! You cannot let your father go to his death worrying! Promise me that you will at least put him to a test. Give him a chance, and if he fails you, I will send him away.”

And for love of her father, Nasaba agreed. But she determined to invent a trial that no lion could endure.

And coming to Prince Mohatu, she said, “If you would be my husband, you must bring me a token of your love. Cross the River of Death and the Desert of Sorrows. You will see the Mountain of Hopelessness before you, and on its summit grows a tree with pink blossoms. Pick me one and bring it back unwilted as a token of your love, and I will be yours.”

Now the River of Death was well named, for it was very deep and broad, and no lion could live to swim across it. But so full of love was he, that he jumped in and swam and swam until his strength was gone. And as he started to go under, Mohatu cried out to Aiheu and said, “Lord, if you look with favor on my undertaking, help me!”

Aiheu heard his cries and sent four large snapping turtles to him. Mohatu stepped on their backs like stepping stones and he was carried across.

Mohatu reached the Desert of Sorrows. Indeed it was well named for it was a fierce and forbidding land. No lion could live to cross it. But so full of love was he that he set out and walked and walked until the sun had drained the life from him and parched his throat. And as he started to collapse, Mohatu cried out to Aiheu and said, “Lord, if you look with favor on my undertaking, help me!”

Again Aiheu heard his cries and sent One-who-brings-rain to place a cloud over him to shade his path. And because he was parched, the cloud rained until he had drunk his fill. Thus he was safely across the desert.

Before him was the Mountain of Hopelessness. Indeed, it was well named for its slopes were steep and treacherous. No lion could live to climb it. But so full of love was he that he started up and climbed and climbed until he was trapped on a ledge. He could not climb up or down, and as he was ready to fall, for the third time Mohatu cried out to Aiheu and said, “Lord, if you look with favor on my undertaking, help me!”

And when he had spoken, an eagle came gliding down the mountainside, and in his beak was a single pink blossom! Now this eagle was Aiheu himself, and he said, “Before you call on me again, I have looked with favor on your undertaking or you would not have come this far. Thus I have blessed this flower, and as long as your love lasts it shall never wilt.”

“Then indeed it shall never wilt at all!”

Kamambe was very sad, and he paced about in his anguish. “My daughter, you have killed a good and worthy lion! As surely as if you choked the life out of him with your own jaws!”

“He could have refused me, or he could have gone home.”

“Or you could have married him.”

Nasaba was moved by the grief of her father, for she truly loved him. So much did she love her father Kamambe, that she considered all other lions unworthy. And she said, “I will go to look for him. And if he lives, I will marry him.”

But Kamambe refused. “I shall not lose my daughter whom I love. If he returns, however, you shall keep your offer.”

Within the week, one of Nasaba’s sisters spotted a lion with a pink blossom in his mouth. “Behold, it is our Prince!”

Nasaba fell at his feet. “Thanks be to Aiheu that you have returned!” She inhaled the fragrance of the flower and when she did, Aiheu opened her eyes to the love Mohatu felt for her, and she kissed him. “I thought in the whole land there was not another lion like my father. But you have loved me when I least deserved it, and you shall be my mate and my king. Your love is true as the sunrise is to the morning.”

Nala looked at her mother suspiciously. “There wouldn’t happen to be a moral to this story, would there?”

“Do you want to take a guess at it?”

“I’m supposed to marry Simba someday ‘cause you promised.”

Sarafina pawed her gently. “Maybe it’s not that at all.”

“You mean I don’t have to marry him? Then what IS the moral?”

Fini smiled. “Maybe the point is not to turn people away without giving them a chance--a fair chance. Then you can make a good decision. Honey Tree, you never know what token of love Simba might risk death to give you. Don’t rush to answer ‘no.’ until you’re old enough to understand the question.”

Coming from the east was Mufasa and young Simba. “I bet he got a good cuffing,” Nala thought. She got as close as she dared and watched carefully. But Simba and Mufasa were smiling and talking. Simba caught a glimpse of her and looked at her for a moment, a warm smile on his face. Nala felt the smile escape her from deep inside, and her tail twitched restlessly. She could hear a poem going through her head:

With a smile of embarrassment, she said to herself, “Well, I guess it COULD happen....”

Crickets celebrated the night constant chirruping which carried clear across the savanna. Avina shifted slightly on her perch amid the rocks of Pride Rock, twitching out of the way of a protruding stone which was irritating her back. Flicking her tail in satisfaction, she closed her eyes.

Warm breath puffed in her face and a wet tongue caressed her cheek. “Hi, Mama.”

Avina blinked and turned her head. “Hello, Sassie.” Her jaws opened in a wide yawn. “You girls were out late You know I worry about you when you do that.”

“I’m sorry, Mama,” Elanna said, rubbing against her mother and clambered atop her and settling next to her sister Sarabi.

Avina purred in her chest as she pulled her daughters close. “Mama? What happened to ‘Mom?’ You two haven’t called me Mama for a long time.” The lioness wrapped her paws about her children, sharing her warmth with them as they lay together. Suddenly an arc of light sparked across the heavens, a claw mark of light against the velvet sky.

“What was that?” the girls asked.

Avina tracked the light intently. “Bow your heads, quick! Give thanks to Aiheu for his love.”

Obediently, they touched muzzle to paw in prayer until Avina raised her own head. “What was it, Mama? Why were we praying?”

Avina nuzzled Elanna softly. “That light was one of the lost souls, the Makei, still searching for his home.”

“Why are they lost?”

“They are polluted, and it makes it difficult for them to find guidance from Aiheu. Still he holds out a paw to them. He told them, ‘Cleansing comes from within, in a clean heart and truthful witness. You will be sorely tempted by the mud, but you are also full of my milk, and it will overcome all else if you let it. Remember in your darkness that my light is with you, shining on the true path.’”

Sarabi shivered. “That’s so sad. I feel sorry for them.”

“That’s good, Honey Tree. They don’t mean to be bad.”

“But how come that Makei fell out of the sky? Wasn’t he with the old kings?”

Avina sighed. “The Makei may call upon Aiheu to judge them. If he deems their heart is good, Aiheu cleanses their Ka of the mud and gives them life, true life on Ma’at.

“However, if they are decieving him, he sees this too. They are cast back to earth without their form to continue their search.” Avina scratched idly and groomed her paw. “Legend has it that a Makei fell to earth right here and created Pride Rock.”

“Really??”

“Yes. You see, long ago a lion pride lived here when there was nothing but grassy plain. It was a strong pride with a fine king. One season the drought struck them particularly hard, however, and they began to starve. The king decreed that large portions of kills would go to the lionesses who participated in the hunt, with the largest going to the one who made the kill itself.