“Lord Rainbow fell before Aiheu and cried, ‘Even so, Lord!’ And with a loud cry he gave up his Ka.
And at that same moment a great crimson light shone from the heavens on Lady Nala and her five children. And in that moment she was cured by the power of Lord Rainbow, but she wept for she felt in the light the touch of her husband and that he was no more.
The years went on long and hard for Lord Rainbow. Following his old friend One Who Makes Rain, the crimson light of his Ka would shine down on the land where his wife and cubs dwelled after every rain that the terrible plague would not return. And then when death came to Lady Nala, she joined him so that the bow of light in the heavens was both red and blue. When Nala’s mother died, she joined her faithful daughter and became a yellow light. And in the course of time when his four cubs grew old and died one by one, their lights went to join their family, and so now after the rain the whole family can be seen playing together in the heavens with their first and dearest friend.”
The mercurial African storm died down, and the rays of the sun streamed through the vail of clouds like a blessing. And next to the golden burst of enchantment arched a breathtakingly beautiful rainbow.
“Look! There he is!”
“Yes, child! See Lady Nala?? That’s your namesake, Honey Tree!”
Nala waved with her paw and shouted, “Hello, Nala!”
A few seconds later, a voice answered, “Hello, Nala!”
“She heard me!” Nala squealed with delight. Sarafina suspected it was only an echo, but she groomed her daughter with tender affection and said, “She knew your name. That means you’re special--but I always knew that.”
THE DROUGHT OF NEGEB:
Elanna was very fond of cubs, but after her miscarriage Rafiki broke the sad news that she would never have any children of her own. Starved for love, she yearned for the sporadic attentions of the Pride’s cubs.
Unfortunately, the other lionesses did not approve of her husband Taka. They did not want her to be associating with their cubs, and while nothing was ever said to her face, they left no doubt how they felt. Hushed whispers, subtle gestures and icy glances hurt her like claws at every turn. And with anguish she would rest on her rock alone and watch cubs playing in the distance while she pined to groom them, tell them stories and kiss them softly and lovingly on the cheek and between the ears and maybe, Aiheu willing, feel their small soft bodies snuggled against her side in sleep.
It was time for the hunt, a pleasure Elanna had been denied for almost three years. And rather than leave Elanna with their cubs, Isha stayed behind to sit with them. It was the ultimate accusation of uselessness hurled against Elanna that a fine huntress like Isha would leave the hunt to cub-sit.
Taka was surveying his territory, about to leave to walk the border on his usual evening rounds. Though Elanna counted herself fortunate that he was a very loving husband, he had turned more and more inward as the drought had worsened. He would neglect her for hours at a time, even when he was not walking the line. These times were her private hell, as neglected by her Pride Sisters she was also neglected by the reason for their scorn.
Isha had to go relieve herself. That was what she told the cubs at any rate, but the fact was she had other things she wanted to do. One was to raid some of the food the hyenas had stashed away to keep up her strength. After days of eating lizards and mice, she felt entitled to her turn at raiding the cache. It would take skill and finesse, and Elanna knew she would be gone for a while.
She sneaked quietly to the cubs and sat down next to them. “Hello there, sweet things! It’s good to see you again!”
“Hi, Aunt Lannie!” Togo and Kombi said. Habusu and Lisani rubbed against her endearingly and wiggled with joy as Elanna kissed them.
“How about a nice story?” Elanna asked.
“Yeah!” Togo said. “One we haven’t heard in a while!”
Now there was one story they had not heard in a very long while because it struck uncomfortably close to home. It was the only one Elanna could think of before they lost interest, so she started uncertainly into The Drought of Negeb.
“There was once a Lion King Ulu who was a great ruler and exceedingly kind. He had a son Negeb and his love for him was boundless, and everything that came to his son had to be the best. But Negeb son became spoiled to this attention and when his father died and he had to rule the kingdom, he wanted to keep the privileges to which he had been used.
“Where his father had placed few responsibilities on his shoulders, he did not wish to make his daily patrols but instead had the lionesses drive off the hyenas and wild dogs whenever they found them. And though the lionesses worked harder for him than they did for his father, Negeb barely deigned to notice the voices of the lions under his rule, and the other animal Incosi were rarely permitted an audience.
“Kills made by the lionesses were judged harshly, and if deemed unfit for his tastes, he ordered the lionesses to hunt again.
“Tashi who was his betrothed came before him and nuzzled him. ‘My King, I would remain behind from the hunt tonight.’
“’And why is that, Tashi? Are you ill?’
“’I am approaching my first season, and I have come to please my husband.’
“He looked at her appraisingly. ‘Then why do you come here if it is your husband that you seek.’
“’But Sire, were we not betrothed by our parents good and true?’
“’Indeed we were,’ King Negeb said. ‘And yet your face is round and eyes are small, and your constant croaking like a raven is only matched by the harshness of your giggle. What COULD my father have been thinking??’
“’Oh, my King!’ she cried, falling prostrate before him. ‘You pierce my heart with thorns!’ She sobbed inconsolably. ‘If my chatter bothers you, I shall remain silent, but do not cast me out!’
“’Who cast you out, I say? My belly is empty--the hunt begins. Hunt well, and you shall remain. But do not call yourself my betrothed--the thought of breathing on your cheek makes me want to wretch!’
“Deeply hurt, he young lioness went into the North, into the land of the hyenas, and when the sentries challenged her to leave or die, she said, ‘All places are one to me. Do to me as it seems fit.’
“Her great sadness touched the hearts of the hyenas, and they allowed her to remain and eventually to be adopted into the clan. And for a long time Tashi stayed with them, learning their language and their customs. Because her heart was good, they came to love her like a clan sister, and her love for them was returned. But still there was an emptiness in her heart. She missed her old pride sisters and despite all she still loved King Negeb and prayed each night that he would love her in return.
“Aiheu was incensed with Negeb for his sins. In a cloud of anger which blotted the sun and sent thunder and lightning to shake the foundation of the earth, Aiheu revealed himself in all his glory to the king, who wailed with terror. ‘What is this that my servant has done? In foolishness have you increased, oh Negeb, and in foolishness shall you decrease. Suffering shall overtake you, son of Ulu, and with the measure you granted mercy shall mercy be granted to you. But for the sake of a good lioness who prays each night for you, I shall not rip you alive as I had wont to do.’
“As the days passed, Aiheu's meaning became apparent. The Lord's wrath burned from the heavens scorching the earth below. Plants withered and died under the assault, and animals became scarce. Only the hardy gemsbok remained, scrounging what nourishment they could from the dry earth. The kings lionesses preyed heavily upon the gemsbok, as they were their only source of food as well as moisture.
“One morning dawned to find the plains empty.” Elanna bowed her head and tears began to stream down her face. Lisani snuggled closer against Habusu in the awful quiet, and her eyes reddened.
“Lannie, are you all right?” Habu asked.
Elanna kissed him. “I’m sorry. Really I am. I just get emotional when I tell that story, Honey Tree. I’m sorry.”
&nb
sp; “Oh Lannie!” Lisani cried. “Are we all going to die?”
“No, hon. Don’t say that.” She rubbed her eyes and said, “I feel much better now, really I do. Let’s finish the story, shall we?”
Elanna regained her composure. “Aiheu had instructed the gemsbok to leave the land and journey to another kingdom far away which he had prepared for them. The lionesses began to desert the land as well, saying, ‘Shall we remain here and die with one who loves us not?’”
“I hope Nala comes home,” Habu said.
“So do I,” Lisani said.
“And us,” Kombi said. “Do you think she will?”
“I hope so,” Elanna said. “Well, the king railed bitterly against God for the curse; each day his pride numbered fewer and fewer, their reports becoming more and more bleak. Many things did he learn to eat, and days came when he would have been glad to eat anything, but there was nothing. Then finally, he awoke one morning to hear only silence. His cries for help were pitiful, but no one remained to hear them.
“Utterly desolated, he shrank in a corner of his cave, the taste of fear strong on his drying tongue. Weaker and weaker he became, his cries for help becoming hoarse, feeling his body's grip on his soul become weak as the water was drawn from him with each breath he exhaled. At last in utter misery, he cried out, "Oh gods, kill me! Aiheu, release me form this torment, I cannot bear it any more!"
Elanna’s chin began to quiver. “Poor, dear creature! He wasn’t evil--he was just an overgrown cub that wanted to be loved by someone! Somewhere along the way, he got on the wrong path, but his heart was good!” She looked up at Taka as he sat unmoving upon the promontory and trembled. “Who can say what pain and suffering he felt inside? What lonely thoughts he carried in his heart?”
Lisani left Habusu and snuggled against Elanna. Habusu then lay against Elanna’s other side and nuzzled her. Togo and Kombi looked down, depressed.
“His ear twitched as he heard the gentle pad of footsteps. A voice spoke to him in the hyena tongue, and he shrank back. ‘At last, it pleases Aiheu to release me from my suffering.’
“’I do not know what pleases Aiheu,’ the voice said plainly. “But it would please me to ease your suffering.’
“He opened his eyes and saw very dimly a lioness bearing a zebra haunch. ’Bless you, child!’ Hungrily he devoured the meat, muttering thanks to Aiheu and the stranger. ‘I would have perished without your help.’
"’Milord values my presence, then?’
"’I value you well!’ He said, ‘Your voice is familiar, but tinged with some great sadness. Who has harmed you?’
“’I was scorned by my betrothed. He saw no value in me but my hunting skills.’
“’Stay here, then. I will appreciate you.’
“’But does my voice not still croak like a raven? Is my face not too round? Only don’t worry, my betrothed, I do not laugh harshly anymore, for all the joy has gone out of my life.’
“Negeb fell before her and sobbed. ‘Tashi, Tashi! How I wronged you! Heaven and Earth have condemned me, and justly so!’
“’You feel sorry for me?’
“’I feel sorry for myself, that I have lost the love of a noble and gentle creature. But for your prayers each night, Aiheu would have slain me.’
“’He spared you for my sake that we might be married someday. You have not lost my love.’
“He nuzzled her and said, ‘I long to see your lovely round face and your beautiful small eyes. And your sweet raven’s voice I would hear always....’”
She looked up at Taka again. Her eyes followed the curves of his body and the sad set of his chin. “’....and you shall laugh again, so swear I before Aiheu that I will put joy back in your life.’” Elanna reached out toward him with her paw. “Joy and love, my darling! Love that will last till the last beat of my heart. Love that will overlook your faults and build you up when others tear you down. Love that looks past the scars and sees the beauty! Oh gods, just look at him! He’s worrying himself into an early death and all they do is heap abuse on him!”
Lisani started to cry and paw Elanna’s tear-stained cheeks.
Elanna tried desperately to cover and go on with the story. “’The land is dying,’ Negeb said, ‘and I am dying with it. It is no good to stay here.’
“’Perhaps the Lord will have mercy on you for my sake. I shall remain.’
“And so at last they became husband and wife. And Aiheu saw true repentance in the lion's heart and relented. He allowed One-who-brings-rain to return and make the land fertile again, and called back the animals and birds. Oh, and what a beautiful sight it was, my cubs!”
She looked out over the dust-choked landscape with its leafless trees writhing in mute agony in the dry wind. “When the rain came, it smelled so sweet and dry earth soaked up the water and the grass turned green again!” She ran her paw through the dust. “Oh to see the green grass and the flowers one last time! To feel the rain pelt on my fur again and watch the waterhole grow broad and deep again the way it was when I was a cub! Can you remember when the water was deep enough to reach the base of the shrubs? Can you?”
“I can,” Lisani said, tears coursing down her cheeks. “Oh, Lannie!”
“Look at me going on like an old fool! I’ll never finish this story if I keep wandering like that!”
“You’re not an old fool!” Togo said. “Don’t say bad things like that--it’s not true!”
Elanna stroked him with a paw. “No, you’re right of course. I just feel old. Bless your heart, Honey Tree. You were always good to your Aunt Lannie.” She waited a moment until she was properly composed before she continued.
“The land healed itself of its scars, and Negeb thereafter acquitted himself nobly, with Tashi as his queen. And though Aiheu blessed the land and its inhabitants, each year he called the animals away for a time and One-who-brings-rain withheld his gift to remind Negeb of his obligation to the gods. And so it is till this day.”
"Did Taka do something bad?" Habusu glanced nervously at the dark lion brooding up on the promontory above. "Is that why Aiheu is punishing us?"
Elanna drew close and nuzzled him behind the ear. "No, Habu. Aiheu isn't mad at us. The drought is a part of life, and so are the rains that follow behind it. In this way, Aiheu reminds us of our place in the Circle of Life, that we are all equal in his eyes, king and commoner."
Lisani peered up at Elanna. "Even cubs?"
Elanna kissed Lisani on the tip of her nose. "Yes, even cubs."
"And Taka too?"
"Of course, even Taka too. Aiheu loves us all, hon."
"Good." Lisani craned her head back up to where the king sat still, watching the horizon for some unknown sign. "I hope God makes it rain soon to remind him. I think Taka's forgotten it."
Elanna kissed the cubs again and sighed deeply. "I hope so, too." She managed a smile. “Why don’t we do something happy? How about the Sufa Song! Does anyone know all the movements?”
“Me! Me!”
“OK, Lisani! Why don’t you lead us?”
Wiggling with pride, Miss Priss faced her small audience. Her eyes narrowed in deep concentration for a moment as she mentally went over the parts she was unsure of, but then she brightened. Facing away from the sunset with a paw against her cheek, she began:
Lord, I want to meet you in the East!
Lord, I want to meet you in the East!
When I’m young I won’t neglect you in the least;
Oh Lord, I want to meet you in the East!
She turned to face the sunset and touched her nose to the ground, putting a paw on top of her head.
Lord, I want to meet you in the West!
Lord, I want to meet you in the West!
When I’m old your loving arms will feel the best;
Oh Lord, I want to meet you in the West!
Finally, with simple, heartfelt faith, she rolled on her back and rubbed her chest above her heart. Elanna and the others followed her.
Lord
, I want to meet you in this place!
Lord, I want to meet you in this place!
When I do, I’ll see the beauty in your face;
Oh Lord, I want to meet you in this place!
“Wasn’t that good!” Elanna kissed her repeatedly. “And how big you’ve grown! Don’t wait so long till you come to see me again, or you’ll be all grown up!”
Isha, who showed up near the end of the song, said rather urgently, "It's time for your bath, Habu. You too, Lissie."
"Oh, I can handle that," Elanna said.
"No thank you," Isha said, almost curtly.
“I don’t mind, really! You take Habu and I’ll do Lisani.”
“No thank you, my lady. Unless that’s a direct order.”
"Of course it’s not an order. I just love them, that’s all." Elanna bowed her head. "And I thought you loved me, Isha! Don’t you remember when I used to groom you after the hunt? You said we’d always be friends! Have you forgotten, Isha??”
Isha looked away and sighed. “Please, not in front of the children. They don’t understand.”
“Neither do I. I wish to Aiheu someone would explain it to me!” She looked at the cubs who stared at her with sad faces. “Good bye, Miss Priss. Take care, Habu. Well, I guess you other cubs had better run along too." As Isha stalked off with her pair, Elanna left Togo and Kombi and sneaked off to hide in the reeds.
Shouldering the plants aside, Elanna stared down at the dry dust. A tear trickled down her cheek, hanging from a whisker for a moment before dropping to vanish into the parched earth. "Aiheu, Aiheu, why have you abandoned me?? This judgment is more than I can bear! Let it rain, God! One little drop to fall on my husband’s parched tongue! Why won’t you listen to me! Oh God, if there’s hope for me, show me a sign! Don’t abandon me, God! Please don’t abandon me!"
Togo and Kombi came and huddled next to Elanna, kissing her and snuggling by her side.
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