Little Lion Rescue

by Rachel Delahaye

  Was it dust in the cub’s eye or did Tanzy actually wink?

  “Come on. It’s probably time we both went home.”

  Fliss carefully climbed back down the tree with Tanzy in one arm. After the race of the wildebeest, the plains were calm once again. Fliss marvelled at how everything could be so dramatic one minute and sleepy and serene the next. The sun-bathed landscape was almost hypnotic.

  Heat played lots of tricks – it made everything on the horizon look like liquid. She had once read a story about a desert mirage, where the heat took away all the colour of the sand so it looked like water. In the story, the thirsty travellers thought it was an oasis in the distance. Was that what she was seeing now, over there?

  Just up ahead – too close to be the river – the ground was fuzzy and out of focus. It was shimmering. What was that? She hadn’t spotted it from her position in the tree. It looked like a silvery sheet. It looked like water. Water… Fliss felt her throat tighten. There were waterholes in the Serengeti – perhaps one would be fed by a freshwater spring. She licked her dry lips at the thought of cool clean water and began to run towards it.

  But the closer she got, the more confused she became. There was still a shimmer, but in it she noticed a nose and two ears. Four tails. Then individual shapes began to emerge from the confusing pattern. Fliss could see now. The animals’ stripes meant that from a distance they had no solid outline – they melted together into one large mass. From a distance it was impossible to tell what they were.

  “Oh my goodness!” Fliss gasped. “That is the cleverest camouflage I’ve ever seen!”

  The dazzle of zebras parted as Fliss walked right through them, eyes wide in amazement.

  They looked like stubby stripey horses – something that could have been conjured up by a wizard. Even their manes were striped! Fliss wished Ella could see this – she was the world’s biggest lover of zebras. Or zee-bras – she liked to say it the American way for fun. Fliss felt a lump in her throat at the thought of her friend, who would be missing her. But all she had to do to feel better was look at Tanzy and remember her vet’s oath.

  Fliss and Tanzy continued on towards the Mara River. The closer they got, the more animals they saw emerging from the plains. They walked alongside graceful gazelles and impalas with twisty horns and pretty patterns. Fliss’s stomach fluttered with excitement – she was so close to Africa’s incredible wildlife! It also fluttered with fear, because among the Serengeti’s native animals were some very dangerous species. If other animals were coming to the river, then the dangerous ones would be coming, too.

  Keeping an eye out for sudden stampedes, Fliss kept going. The sun beating down on her head made her sleepy. Her dry eyes blinked against the hot air and dust. But just a few more minutes and they’d be there. Then they would find the pride and she could concentrate on getting home.

  The Mara River wasn’t as Fliss had imagined. The pictures at the school centre had shown raging torrents and animals struggling to get through the fast waters, but over the summer there hadn’t been much rain in the Serengeti and the river was low. Large rocks created stepping stones across it and areas of the riverbed stuck out of the shallow waters, making sandy islands for birds and tired beasts to sit on. Fliss had no idea that so many different animals – some of which she was sure would quite like to eat each other – could rest happily side-by-side.

  “Shall we take a closer look, Tanzy? Do you think they’ll make room for us?”

  There were antelope, wildebeest and zebras drinking. Hippos basked on rocks or bobbed around in small pools, some with birds standing on their heads. Fliss looked left and right. There were birds and beasts as far as the eye could see. But where were the lions?

  Fliss turned in circles, hoping to see a glimpse of golden fur among the brown and grey, but there was no sign of them.

  “Oh, Tanzy, they’re not here,” Fliss said. She tried to stay calm in case the cub got upset. But her heart was racing. She was so certain they’d be here. They might have crossed the waters, Fliss supposed, although on the other side she could see … elephants! Wow!

  The peaceful herd of beautiful creatures stood at the water’s edge, their trunks swaying and their ears flapping gently. They were happy.

  And then, suddenly, they weren’t.

  Without warning, a large elephant broke into a run. It headed away from the river and into the foliage behind. Its ear-splitting trumpet blasted the air like a danger siren, and then the other members of its herd began running, too. They were fast on their feet, trampling the bushes and small trees to get away.

  Other animals at the edge of the river began to panic, too. Impalas backed away from the water, stepping on top of one another as they fled. Fliss’s heart started beating so fast she could feel it against her ribs. She couldn’t see anything but she sensed trouble. The air seemed to fizz with electricity. Tanzy picked up on it, too. Her eyes were wide and scared.

  “What’s going on, Tanzy?”

  Fliss searched for a sign but it didn’t look as if there had been a crocodile attack or any hippos getting feisty. In fact, all the animals in the river were calm. It was the animals on land that were shrieking and bucking and jumping in all directions. The commotion got louder and louder.

  Tanzy knew what was happening, though. The cub was looking to the right, roaring over and over at an invisible enemy. Fliss followed her line of sight.

  Cheetahs.

  Fliss and Tanzy stood absolutely still. Further around the bend of the river – less than a football pitch away – three cheetahs were making their way through a clump of trees. They walked slowly and carefully, spread out like a sports team. Fliss guessed it was how they attacked – from all angles.

  With every step they took, a wave of animals scattered and soon there were beasts running everywhere, herds colliding in panic. If Fliss and Tanzy didn’t move now they’d either be trampled or on a cheetah’s menu!

  “Let’s go!” Fliss grabbed Tanzy, who was still roaring bravely, and pulled her up into her arms. Which way should they go? With wildebeest, deer, zebras and cheetahs running wild, there was nowhere safe. She spotted a stack of rocks to her left, a few metres back from the river. Cheetahs would be able to climb them easily but they had their sights set on the water, where a group of young gazelles was caught in the muddy shallows. Fliss scrambled up one of the rocks, clutching Tanzy tightly. The cub’s paws and head rested over one of Fliss’s shoulders as she continued to roar at the cheetahs.

  “Don’t be scared,” Fliss said, although at that moment she was as scared as she’d ever been. She turned to look at the scene by the river.

  The cheetahs were still heading for the water, closing in like a net – walking slowly, occasionally lying low, getting closer and closer. And then – the sprint! The cheetahs burst into a run so fast it took Fliss’s breath away. The gazelles, croaking and bleating in panic, struggled urgently in the mud. Most of them broke free and scampered away, zigzagging across the land to confuse the cats, but one was stuck, its thin legs wedged into the riverbed.

  Fliss prayed it would get away in time, but if it did then the cheetahs would go hungry. This is nature, she reminded herself. Beautiful but cruel. She turned away. She didn’t want to see what would happen next. She buried her face in Tanzy’s fur and kept it there until Tanzy, no longer roaring, gave her a nudge under her chin.

  Fliss looked up. The little gazelle was covered in mud but bounding away across the plains while the cheetahs slunk back into the trees.

  “That was one lucky gazelle,” she said. Tanzy gave her a big prickly lick right across her cheek. “Now it’s time we made sure you have a happy ending, too!”

  But she didn’t have a clue what to do or where to go. She’d been so sure the lions would be at the river that she hadn’t planned what to do if they weren’t there.

  She looked out over the plains. The Serengeti was so big and wild. She and Tanzy were just two small animals, and suddenly Fliss didn’t f
eel so brave about her mission. On top of that, she had started to feel shaky. Her stomach groaned with hunger and her throat was raw and dry. Her head was dizzy with heat. She sat down quickly before her legs gave way.

  She looked at Tanzy in her lap. The cub’s eyes were half closed.

  “Do you need a nap, little one?” Fliss said, gently stroking Tanzy’s head. “Or are you feeling weak, like me?”

  Tanzy tried to roar but nothing came out – not even a squeak – and Fliss felt hot tears in her eyes. This cub needed food and lioness’s milk soon or she might not survive. Jonty’s words echoed in her mind. Being a vet is a tough job … but it looks to me like you have determination…

  If Jonty could see her now, perhaps he wouldn’t think she had what it took. But being a vet was all she wanted to do, so she had to find strength and determination from somewhere.

  “I made a vet’s oath and I can’t break it,” she said aloud.

  Fliss closed her eyes, breathed in deeply and gathered her thoughts. Before she decided where to go next, Tanzy needed attention.

  “Lions get most of their moisture from food. But you’ve only had some dry chicken and a tiny egg. That’s where we’ll start – we’ll get you a drink of water.”

  Cradling Tanzy, Fliss headed away from the remaining wildebeest and along the riverbank. When she found an area where there were no animals that could run, jump or cause a commotion, she approached the water’s edge. Tanzy started to wriggle in her arms, as if she could smell the water.

  “Wait, Tanzy,” Fliss said. “I’m not going to put you down yet. Not until I’m absolutely sure it’s safe. I’ve read about crocodiles and I don’t think I’d like to meet one!”

  Fliss threw a few big sticks into the shallows in front of her. If there was a crocodile there it would leap or wriggle with surprise – or attack. But after each splash, the water was still.

  Holding on tight to Tanzy’s body, she let the cub lap.

  The sun-sparkles danced on the river and Fliss was tempted to dip her hand into it and cup some of the water to her mouth. But this wasn’t a freshwater spring and Fliss knew that her stomach would not be used to the bacteria in the water. It could make her sick. And what use was a sick vet?

  She pushed her thirst from her mind and instead concentrated on staying alert and being ready to run, just like an animal of the Serengeti.

  After drinking, Tanzy broke away from her grip and tried to hop across some rocks by the bank to investigate the birds perched there.

  “No you don’t, little one.” Fliss was so parched her voice was just a whisper now. “There’ll be plenty of time to play when you find your brothers and sisters.”

  But where were Tanzy’s siblings? Where were her mother and father? Where would she and Tanzy even start to look for them?

  She took out the postcard – it was the only clue she had.

  The lioness in the picture was now sitting on her hind legs, her head high. Other lionesses were standing next to her, peering in different directions. They were on the lookout.

  “Where are you?” Fliss whispered, stroking the picture. She felt her fingertips tingle. Then she recognized a patch of flattened grass behind the pride, a little way in the distance.

  “Tanzy, they’re waiting for you,” Fliss said, brightening. “They haven’t given up and moved on at all. Of course! If it was me, I’d be staying close to where I lost you… So that’s where we should go – back to where it all started.” That place with the claw marks and tufts of lion mane – that was where the cub had got lost. The pride would have found a safe place to rest or hide but they wouldn’t have moved too far away from where the cub went missing.

  “No one could abandon you, Tanzy,” Fliss said to the now lively cub.

  Fliss looked again at the Mara River and the lush green fields and trees on the other side of it. It felt wrong to be walking away from it but she was certain it was the right thing to do.

  She turned round and, with Tanzy at her side, began walking against the tide of deer heading for the river. The deer leaped aside when they got near but then regrouped and continued their journey. In this heat, any sensible animal would be heading for water. Once again, Fliss had to push away thoughts of fresh water and how freely it flowed back home.

  Home. She suddenly missed it like crazy. She missed the cool air. She missed crisp apples and fruit juice and sliced‑up cucumbers. She missed her soft bed. Any bed. She was so tired she could sleep anywhere – up an acacia tree, in the long grasses, on a Serengeti rock… She just needed sleep.

  Tanzy brushed against her ankle and gave a little squeak, looking up at her and blinking against the bright sunlight. Fliss jolted awake. She’d been walking with her eyes closed in a daze! She woke herself up by shaking out her arms and legs.

  “I’m going to be strong for you, Tanzy,” Fliss said, holding back the tears. “I made a promise as a vet and as your friend.”

  Fliss knew that she would never break her promise. She just hoped that the wild Serengeti wouldn’t break her first.

  Fliss tripped and stumbled across the land. She kept her eyes on Tanzy as she repeated her vet’s oath, over and over. It kept her going when she thought she might melt in the heat. But although she forced her brain to stay focused, Fliss’s legs were tiring. Her footsteps slowed down until eventually she came to a stop. She couldn’t take another step. Tanzy circled her and pawed at her legs with worry.

  “I’m OK, Tanzy, I’m OK,” Fliss whispered, sitting down. “But we’ve been walking a very long time. Give me minute to rest and we’ll be on our way again.”

  Even as she was saying the words, Fliss felt her body sinking lower into the grass. She fell asleep before her head even touched the ground.

  Fliss felt a tickling on her cheek. What was that? In her sleepy daze she thought it was Tanzy’s whiskers and smiled, but as the tickling spread across her face and down her neck, she woke in alarm.

  Ants! Argh! Fliss leaped up, brushing the little brown ants from her face and neck. Even after she’d got rid of them, she carried on wriggling and itching as if they were still crawling on her. What a horrible feeling! Her head wasn’t any better either – it hurt from sleeping out in the sun. But that wasn’t the worst thing.

  Tanzy was nowhere to be seen.

  Fliss looked out across the plains. The sun was low and the blue sky had turned pinky-orange like a ripe apricot. How long had she been asleep? How long had the cub been missing?

  “Tanzy!” she called. Her thirsty voice was so cracked it didn’t carry far. “Tanzy, where are you?”

  Fliss sat back down and held her head in her hands. Everything hurt. Her head ached and her heart was sore… Tanzy … little Tanzy…

  She couldn’t give up. If she did she’d be no good to anyone. Fliss squeezed her eyes shut and took several deep breaths to calm herself down.

  Another annoying ant found its way on to her face and she brushed it away with the back of her hand. It came back again, this time with friends. She felt their footsteps tickle her chin. She wanted to scream. She opened her eyes, ready to leap up and pat herself down…

  Oh! Tanzy nuzzled her chin. It wasn’t ants – it was whiskers this time!

  “Thank goodness!” Fliss said. She still felt like crying but this time with relief. The cub was safe. “Come for a cuddle. I could really do with one.”

  But Tanzy had different ideas. She ran ahead into the grasses, then stopped and looked back. Then she did the same again and again.

  “Do you want me to follow you?”

  Fliss rose to her feet, wobbling like a tree in a heat haze. She didn’t feel like she had the energy to start walking again just yet but the lions might be close. Concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other, she followed Tanzy. Fliss didn’t notice the strangelooking creature ahead of them until… Snoo-ink! The noise was like a long pig’s oink. But it wasn’t a pig.

  The weird animal looked like an enormous ferret with a stripe of grey fur on
top and black fur underneath, and it was leaning over a large broken tree branch. Fliss narrowed her eyes and tried to focus. As she stepped closer it turned and bared its teeth, before running away.

  “What was that, Tanzy?” Fliss said. But the cub knew exactly what it was. She had already run to where the creature had been and was licking at the branch, where a couple of dozy bees were circling. Dark amber oozed liquid from a hole in the top.

  So hungry her tummy was twisting in knots, Fliss decided that if it was good enough for a lion, it was good enough for her… She scooped some of the sticky liquid on to her finger and tasted it. Such sweetness! Fliss’s face lit up.

  “Wonderful raw honey! That must have been a honey badger. I remember seeing it in my animal encyclopedia. We’re lucky, Tanzy. Honey badgers can be vicious. Did you see those teeth?”

  Tanzy wasn’t listening. She was feasting, making funny, snarly faces as she tried to lick the honey sticking to her gums. Fliss scooped out more honey for herself. She licked her finger with a satisfying slurp. She might have missed out on ice cream back at the zoo, but this was the sweetest thing she’d ever tasted.

  “Clever bees for making the honey. Clever badger for finding the hive. And clever Tanzy, for sniffing it out. You’re the best!”

  The natural sugars in the honey filled her with energy. She felt amazing. This was power food and it was delicious. Tanzy thought so, too, although the cub was now struggling with her sticky whiskers and was trying to reach her tongue all around her face.

  “Come on, funny thing!” Fliss laughed. “Let’s leave some honey for the poor badger. I’ve got a feeling he was too weak to fight and needs that honey to build his strength. Besides, it’s time we got you some proper lion food!”