Story about a happy lion
Once upon a time, there was a very happy lion.
Every morning, on his way to school, the zookeeper’s son, Francis, would stop and say, “Happy Lion, good morning!”
Every afternoon, on his way home, the school teacher, Mr. Dupont, would stop and say, “Happy Lion, hello!”
Every evening, when Mrs. Panson, who spent the whole day knitting by the bandstand, was leaving, she never forgot to say, “Happy Lion, goodbye!”
On summer Sundays, the town band would march up to the bandstand and play waltzes and polkas. The happy lion would close his eyes and listen. He loved music. Everyone was his friend, everyone greeted him and brought him meat and all kinds of delicious treats.
He was indeed a happy lion.
One morning, the happy lion discovered that the zookeeper had forgotten to close his door.
“Hmm,” the happy lion said, “I don’t like this. Someone might come in.”
Then he thought, “Oh well, this way I can go out and see my friends in town. Visiting friends is a pleasant thing to do.”
So, the happy lion stepped out, went into the park, and greeted a group of busy sparrows, saying, “Friends, good morning!”
The busy sparrows replied, “Happy Lion, good morning!”
A red squirrel sat on its tail, chewing a nut. The happy lion said to the nimble squirrel, “Friend, good morning!”
“Happy Lion, good morning!” the red squirrel replied.
The happy lion walked down the cobblestone street and met Mr. Dupont coming around the corner.
“Good morning!” he said kindly, nodding his head.
“Oh, oh—” Mr. Dupont replied and then collapsed on the sidewalk.
The happy lion said, “What a silly way to say ‘good morning’!” He lifted his soft paw and gently continued walking.
The happy lion walked along the street and saw three ladies he knew from the zoo. He said, “Ladies, good morning!”
“Ah—” they screamed as if a monster was chasing them and ran away.
The happy lion said, “I can’t understand why they behave like this! In the zoo, they are always kind and pleasant.”
Near the grocery store, the happy lion caught up with Mrs. Panson and nodded again, saying, “Madam, good morning!”
“Oh dear! Oh dear—” Mrs. Panson shouted, swinging her vegetable-filled shopping bag at the lion’s face.
“A-choo,” the lion sneezed, “I’m starting to understand now, people in this city are quite absurd and ridiculous.”
At this point, the lion began to hear pleasant marching music. He turned at the corner ahead. The town band was marching down the street between two lines of people, “ta-da-da-dee, ta-da-da, ta-da-da-dee, ta-da-da-da.”
Before the lion could nod and say “good morning,” the music was drowned out by a chorus of shrieks.
“It’s too noisy!” thought the lion.
Musicians and spectators stumbled and bumped into each other, fleeing to doorways and sidewalk cafes.
Soon, the street was empty and silent.
The lion sat and pondered.
He thought, “This must be how people behave outside the zoo.”
He stood up and continued to wander, looking for a friend who wouldn’t faint, scream, or run away. But everyone he saw was pointing at him excitedly from high windows or balconies.
Now, the lion heard another noise growing louder. What was that sound? “Woo-woo—” the noise was piercing. “Toot-toot—woo—” it got louder and louder.
The lion said, “Monkeys in the zoo roam around, if it’s not them making noise, it must be the wind.”
Suddenly, a big red fire truck came racing down the side street and stopped not far from the lion. Then, a big van backed up and opened its wide doors from the other side.
The lion calmly sat down. He didn’t want to miss whatever was about to happen.
Firefighters got out of the truck, dragging hoses, slowly, slowly moving toward the lion.
They moved very carefully, inch by inch, the hoses slowly advancing, like a long snake, growing longer and longer.
Suddenly, a sweet child’s voice called out, “Happy Lion, hello!”
It was Francis, the zookeeper’s son, coming back from school! Seeing the lion, he ran over. The happy lion finally found a friend who didn’t run away and could say “hello,” making him very happy, so happy he forgot all about the firefighters.
Francis put his hand on the lion’s long mane and said, “Let’s go back to the park together.” Thus, the happy lion never got to know what the firefighters intended to do.
The happy lion cheerfully said, “Alright, let’s go back.”
Francis and the happy lion walked back to the zoo. The firefighters followed in the fire truck, and those who had been hiding on high balconies and in windows began to cheer loudly, “Happy Lion, hello!”
From then on, the happy lion often received the finest delicacies from the citizens of the town. But if you opened his door, he no longer wished to go out and visit friends; he felt happier sitting in his rock garden. At that time, on the other side of the rock, Mr. Dupont, Mrs. Panson, and all the old friends would come again, all so understanding and polite, saying, “Happy Lion, hello!”
But only in the afternoons, when Francis passed by the park on his way home from school, was it the happiest time for him. At that moment, he would wag his tail vigorously, as Francis was always his closest friend.
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
