White Lion

Okay, children,

settle down.

It's story time, children.

The story I'm about to tell you

took place a long time ago

in the heart of Africa.

It all began just south

of the great Limpopo River

in the valley

nestled in the foothills

of the Lebombo Mountains.

And in that valley

lived a large pride

of African lions

ruled by a magnificent male

called Mogolo.

In his pride,

Mogolo had a favorite female.

Her name was Misava.

That night, in a village

on the edge of the valley,

a sangoma, who was a healer

and a keeper of stories,

was telling his people

about the legend

of the white lion.

Generations ago, a white lion

had roamed the valley,

and there was peace

and prosperity for all.

But one day,

the lion disappeared.

No one really knew why,

but it was believed that when

the great chief Muhluri died,

the lion followed him

as if to live

with the ancestors.

Life became a lot harder

for the people of the valley.

Food was scarce,

and many were going hungry.

Gisani, the sangoma's son,

would sit for hours

listening to these stories,

and as he stared

into the fire,

he wished for the return

of the white lion

and a better life

for all his people.

It seemed as though

a young man's wishes

had come true.

A white lion had been born

into the valley.

But why was his coat white?

Was he a magic lion?

Well, Gisani's people

believed

that the white lion

was a gift from the ancestors.

And the first one was seen

after a shining star

had fallen to the Earth.

And that's why the Shangaan

believed they were white.

They were the color

of the stars.

For newborn cubs,

the world was a dangerous place.

And Misava had to be ready

to defend her cubs

with her life.

A hyena would not hesitate

to kill

and eat a vulnerable

young lion cub.

So to protect her cubs,

Misava started moving them

to the safety of a new lair.

She began with the smallest

of the two,

who would be known

as Letsatsi.

His brother Buti

followed close behind.

As the weeks passed,

the cubs were developing well.

Letsatsi was proving to be

a real adventurer.

The wonders of the outside world

were hard for him to resist.

It had been a while

since Misava had last fed.

She was hungry.

And to replenish the milk needed

to feed her cubs,

she would have to risk

leaving them alone

and head out into the bush

to hunt.

And of course,

the wonders of the outside world

would once again

be irresistible to the cubs.

Misava,

returning from her hunt,

made a terrible discovery.

Buti was dead.

And Letsatsi was missing.

Misava searched and searched

but could find no trace

of Letsatsi.

The storm of the previous night

had washed his scent

completely away.

And Letsatsi, without his mother

to protect him,

would be lucky

to survive the day alone.

Driven by a sense

that Letsatsi was still alive,

she kept searching.

But Letsatsi's calls to her

were lost in the wilderness.

Meanwhile,

Gisani had been summoned

by his father.

A woman in the village

was very ill,

and he needed Gisani

to search that night

for a special healing plant

found only deep in the valley.

And to help protect his son,

he decided it was time

to pass down

a most treasured possession.

It had once belonged

to the great chief Muhluri

himself.

Gisani couldn't believe

his eyes.

Right in front of him

was the creature

his father had spoken

so often about.

What was Gisani to do?

He should build a fire.

Lions are not that fond

of fires.

The fire would scare him.

He should take it back

to the village.

You have to understand,

for that young man,

who had grown up

with his father's stories

about the white lion,

this was a sacred creature,

and he didn't dare touch it.

Then what did he do?

Rather than interfere,

he would stay close to the cub.

That first meeting

had a powerful effect

on Gisani.

He knew there and then

that his destiny

was to watch over and protect

this sacred creature.

It was time for Misava

to return

and introduce Letsatsi

to the pride.

His white coat

would be honored and revered

in Gisani's village,

but here

in the lions' world,

it would just make him

a curiosity

to the older members

of the pride.

And right from the start,

it would be a struggle

for Letsatsi

to find acceptance.

As the days stretched on,

Mogolo's fondness for his

spirited young cub deepened.

And finally, Letsatsi,

white lion

of the Lebombo Valley,

found his place

in the pride...

Right by his father's side.

As the seasons tumbled by,

Gisani,

true to his destiny,

spent days at a time

away from his village,

following the pride.

Letsatsi matured

into an impressive young male.

For some time now,

life in the pride

had been settled and peaceful.

But on the horizon,

dark clouds were gathering,

and the storm

that was about to hit the pride

came in the form

of two extremely fit

and strong lions.

They were known

as the Mhahlwa.

What does "Mahaluwa" mean?

No.

Mhahlwa.

It means they were

the evil twins.

They had been biding their time,

waiting,

just waiting for the day

they sensed Mogolo had reached

the end of his reign.

And that day had come.

Old Mogolo

was quickly defeated.

He would be forced

to wander the land alone.

How could he just leave

his family?

Was he a coward?

No, Mogolo was no coward!

He might have tried

to take on a single challenger,

but he was no match

for the combined forces

of the mighty Mhahlwa.

The young males

fled for their lives.

The Mhahlwa would kill them

if they offered up

any resistance.

And you can only imagine

how difficult it was

for Misava to say good-bye

to her only surviving cub.

Now Letsatsi's only option

was to join his older cousins.

By joining the group,

he would have a better chance

of survival.

But it was not meant to be.

Without Mogolo

to protect him,

Letsatsi, who had always

been seen as an outsider,

was cast out.

Gisani had learned

of the Mhahlwa takeover

and knew that the well-being

of his people

depended on him

watching over this lion,

now more than ever.

Frightened by the sounds

of the night,

Letsatsi pushed deeper

and deeper into the mountains.

Letsatsi had gone without food

for many days,

but one thing he couldn't

go without was water,

and there below him

was the answer

to his burning thirst.

But even here

in these peaceful surroundings,

danger was everywhere.

Lucky to be alive,

Letsatsi had crossed the border

of his old pride's territory.

Letsatsi was moving quickly,

and Gisani was already

a day or two behind.

He could not afford

to lose track of him now.

Letsatsi was now

in unknown territory.

What was that?

I'm going to take a look.

You stay, now.

And in this territory

lived the most dangerous

creature in all the land...

man.

Gisani, now not far behind,

was getting to know

Letsatsi's tracks by heart.

He was also getting better

at reading

other animal tracks.

Had Letsatsi fallen prey

to a vicious crocodile?

Was he even still alive?

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