THE FLYING LION

Namibia — Khoekhoe Folktale 58” x 44” Woven Cotton Artist, Dlubom

A magical imagining in the mood of African folktale. Set in northern Namibia near the Etosha National Park.

Long ago, the Lion was not only the king of the animals—he could fly. With enormous wings, he soared above the land and hunted from the sky. He would spot the fattest springbok or zebra below, dive from the air, and seize his prey before it could escape. But the Lion had a secret. After eating the animals he hunted, he carefully saved their bones. He kept them together in a great pile near his home and commanded two white crows to guard them whenever he went hunting. “No bone must ever be broken,” he warned them. The crows obeyed, though they did not know why the bones were so important. One day, while the Lion was away, a Great Bullfrog came hopping by. “You must be tired of guarding those bones all day,” he said to the crows. “Go stretch your wings. I will watch them for you.” The crows looked around. The Lion was nowhere to be seen, so they agreed and flew away. As soon as they were gone, the Bullfrog approached the great pile of bones. “I wonder why the Lion cares so much about these,” he thought Then he began to break them. Crack! Crack! Crack! He broke every bone he could find before hopping away toward his pond. When the crows returned, they were horrified. The Lion would be furious. And he was. Far away, the Lion was preparing to hunt when he suddenly discovered that he could no longer fly. He spread his wings and tried again, but they had become weak. The Lion knew something had happened to his bones. He rushed home and demanded to know who had broken them. The crows told him about the Bullfrog. The Lion followed him to his pond and tried again and again to catch him. But whenever the Lion came close, the Bullfrog leapt into the water and escaped from the other side. At last, the Lion realized he could not catch him. From that day forward, the Lion could no longer fly. He had to hunt on the ground, where he learned to stalk his prey quietly instead. And the Great Bullfrog continued to live safely in his pond, having defeated the most powerful creature in the land through nothing more than curiosity, cleverness, and courage.

Moral of the Story:
Strength alone does not make one powerful. Knowledge, cleverness, and courage can overcome even the greatest force.