The lion and the last mouse | Story by Sarthak, 14, Noida

The lion and the last mouse

Once upon a time, there lived a lion, Sher Khan. He loved having mice for meals. After a few weeks, only Chu Cha, the mouse, was left. 

When Sher Khan came up to eat him, Chu Cha begged for his life. “O great Sir Khan, what harm have I done to you? I am the last of my race, so please do not eat me. Someday, I will surely be of help to you,” squeaked Chu Cha. 

“Ho Ho Ho! Look, what do we have here? A small creature the size of my paw would help me”, roared the lion. “But nevertheless, I, being the most magnanimous animal in the world, will spare your life”, said Sher Khan. 

“Chu Cha, sir, I am Chu Cha.” 

“Yes, yes, I will spare your life,” bellowed Sher Khan.

One day, while hunting, Sher Khan got hunted down by a hunter. He yelled for help, but no animal was ready to help except for one, Chu Cha! Chu Cha called the news reporters to inform them about the capture of the lion. Within a few minutes, the news team arrived to record the scene, and it became breaking news. Soon it was flashing on every news channel. The lion in the net became a point of discussion from newsrooms to the common man’s drawing room. As the lion was an endangered species, experts felt that he needed protection against his oppressors. 

A search party was sent to look for the poacher. Finally, he was arrested in a small hut where he, the only breadwinner of his family, lived with them in the most pathetic conditions. 

Sher Khan was running high on his sympathy wave created entirely by the media, hyped by the so-called expert through the debates and discussions, and lapped up by the common man. Seeing his rising popularity, the opposition party approached Sher Khan to fight in the coming elections. As expected, Sher Khan won by a large majority.

He was welcomed at the party head office with great pomp and show. Sher Khan was very happy with his new-found status.

As he stood there to give his victory speech, he heard a familiar squeak come from his mane. He instantly recognised it as Chu Cha’s, and he remembered his words, “Someday I will surely be of help to you.”

He smiled and said, “Thank you, Chu Cha!”