How the Lioness Lost Her Mane
Deep in the savanna, roamed the king and queen of all animals, the Lion and the Lioness. They were known throughout the land for their long luscious manes. The female’s mane was tinted with golden highlights, while the male’s was a deep chocolate brown.
For many sunsets, all went well. Together they had three cubs, two boys and a girl. Food was never scarce and the cubs were quickly learning how to hunt.
However, one day as the Lioness stalked past her den, she noticed her only daughter panting heavily. Puzzled by how tired the cub was, the Lioness snuggled next to her, assuming that she must have played too hard with her brothers.
As many days past, the Lioness noticed the cub’s strange behavior. At first it was only minor differences, but by the fourth sunset, she no longer seemed eager to eat when food was brought back. By the end of the fifth sunset, the Lioness found patches of short golden hairs scattered across the outside of their den. She sniffed the fine hairs to make sure they did not belong to other animals. Recognizing the smell, the Lioness gently called out the cubs name. In response, she heard a whimper come from inside their den.
The Lioness was greeted by a painful sight, when she entered the shelter. The cub had her head resting on a rock, barely able to keep her eyes open. Only a light layer of fur covered her trembling body, revealing the pinkness of her skin. Not knowing the cause, the Lioness picked her cub up with her mouth and left for The Old Tree.
The old tree was home to the Old Tortoise, who was nearly as old as the tree itself. He was known throughout the savanna as the “Great Healer” because he knew the cures of many illnesses.
“What have we got here?” Old Tortoise wondered as the Lioness came in.
“My daughter seems to be very sick.” she responded, her tone laced with concern.
Old Tortoise examined the small cub, trying to decipher the illness. Finally, the tortoise said. “You are lucky you brought her to me today, if you waited a couple of days longer, she would have died. The only way we can cure her is if we sprinkle the mane of a Lion on top of her body.”
“You can use mine.” Lioness said without hesitation. She wanted to cure her cub more than anything.
The Old Tortoise pulled out a sharp stone and began cutting the Lioness’s beautiful mane. He then picked up the pile of fur and sprinkled it on top of the cub’s little body, simultaneously chanting a spell.
The next morning, the Lioness was soon overwhelmed with happiness as her daughter lifted her head. The fur from her mane had grown onto the cub’s skin, giving her a beautiful new coat.
The cub grew into a healthy adult lioness. However unlike what her mother once had, she did not have a long beautiful mane, in fact she did not have one at all. When she gave birth to her own cubs, her daughters did not grow manes either. As more and more lions bred, less and less females grew to have an elegant veil of fur. Overtime, the lionesses no longer had manes.
