Photo by Iván Díaz on Unsplash

Let me tell you a nice little story,
Set in a forest in all its glory.
Of myths, legends, and allegories.
Time to visit the animal kingdom,
Pay attention, there’s a lot here to learn.
First, we meet the lion, the king of the jungle,
He is growing fat as he doesn’t like to move a muscle.
All the other animals bring his food to his cave,
Hoping he’ll eat himself to his death.
The duck said that, 'Here it’s not so pretty,
So I’ll escape to look for the magical city.
The turtle said, 'The throne is mine,
If only I could reach it in time.
You know time is never on my side,
But this wave I’ll surely ride'.
The Wolf said, 'I’ll be happy to rule,
Except when there’s a full moon.
On a full moon night, I’ll howl at the sky,
And slowly watch the world go by.
The old lion in its cave thought with gloom
On his senile self, even the tiniest animal can inflict doom
The wise owl said, 'When things seem too good to be true,
Be careful cause the truth always hides something from you.
The fish said, 'I belong in the river,
So in my watery abode, I’ll rule from there.
The owl said, 'If you luckily don't end up in the fisherman’s lair,
And you have no hand,
So you'll never get a lay of the land.
'This forest should be mine',
Said the fat swine.
'No one has more beauty than I'.
The horse said, 'That is strange coming from you.
You take a mud bath every day or two.
The raven said, 'I like thy tale,
But more than that, I love my tail'.
So it flew off to deliver the mail.
The ravens were the messengers of yore,
Back when men’s hearts were still pure.
Then the raven got stung by a bee,
And all the owls danced with glee.
Soon other animals started jiving to their tune.
So the raven told the owl, 'I'll catch up with you real soon'.
The owl said, 'Okay, but you’ll have to lose all your cool'.
Days passed and no one saw them,
Soon they were almost forgotten.
Then the owl appeared and said,
'I am looking for my lost head.
All of you wicked sneer at me,
When all day long I just sit on a tree.
Singing for you the hoot of a lovely song.
But all you idiots don't know right from wrong.
That's why I should lead.
My head on a swivel will catch every misdeed'.
But the raven said, 'You can barely fly,
And all your fur is infested with lice'.
The elephant came bellowing saying that, The mightiest should rule'.
The others said that, 'You are so big, you'll always be a bigot, you giant fool'.
The snake said, 'I can slither into anywhere and enforce the law'.
The crab said, If you come at me, you'll end up in my claw'.
The tiger, the puma, and the jaguar,
Were the jungle's three musketeers.
They watched the proceedings from afar,
And said, 'We want no part in this ugly affair'.
None of the animals knew who should rule,
And then the hunter arrived wearing his snakeskin boots.
He said, 'I see you all are staging a coup,
But you can't succeed till the old lion is in a soup.
And now I've to choose which of you will be my prey.
Helter-Skelter, all the animals scurried away.
The hunter then went over to the lion's den.
An old scar or two from the hunter's bullets were still visible.
'I'm not here to kill you my old friend', the hunter said.
'The capitalists are on their way to raze the entire forest.
This is probably the last time we will meet,
Hope you find a way to get enough meat to eat.
Then the hunter turned around and walked away,
Leaving the senile creature brooding over the coming days.
The old lion thought, 'I'm the king of the jungle after all.
And like a king, I will go down with the empire when it falls.

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