Once upon a time in the kingdom of animals. The great king Lion was about to die. He was the last of his kind. He had no heir and nobody to take his throne when he died.
*******************************
Being A wise King, he knew that if he should die there would be a great battle for the Throne, more like a game of thrones. On that note, he called all the animals in the kingdom for a meeting.
"Greetings my loyal subjects, it is no longer news that I will be joining my ancestors soon. And you all know I have no rightful heir to the throne. The purpose of calling this meeting Is to tell you how the heir to the throne will be chosen. I'll be giving everybody equal chances of being the king, whether big or small."
"Anybody who is interested in being the king must journey across the seven seas and seven forests. At the center of the seventh forest lies a tree. The first person to pluck the fruit from this tree and bring it back to me becomes the winner and will be proclaimed king."
There was great murmuring in the crowd
You could see People like hare jubilating.
Hare: "This Is Easy, I'll be there and back with the fruit in no time."
Cheetah: "Don't deceive yourself, you can never beat me to the seventh forest"
Deer: "Well while you both are trying to beat yourself, I'll pass you both and get to the tree first."
*******************************
The tortoise stood at a corner listening to them and wondering how he would beat these animals in the contest. He came up with an Idea [as usual]
He went to the Cheetah
"I know a shortcut to the seventh forest, carry me on your back and you will definitely win this"
"Get away from me, I don't need shortcut to win this. Nobody is faster than me."
He went to the hare
"I know a shortcut to the seventh forest, carry me on your back and you will definitely win this"
The hare laughed loud
"Who could have imagined, that the Tortoise who have been my enemy for ages actually wants me to be king. Get away from me you Cunny swine"
He went to the Deer
"I know a shortcut to the seventh forest, carry me on your back and you will definitely win this"
"That's, interesting. But how do I know you don't want to get the fruit for yourself?"
"No Way. I'm too small to rule the animal kingdom. All I want is to be the second in command once we win and you are made king."
"I like the sound of that. We have a deal."
*******************************
On the day of the race to the seven forest, the animals interested assembled in the kings palace, the king blessed them.
"May the Gods and you and don't forget if anyone asks you why you are plucking the fruit tell the person that Feerkan the last Lion sent you."
After the kings speech, they took off.
*******************************
Tortoise could be seen at the back of deer as they took a detour to a different route. Perhaps that is the shortcut tortoise spoke about. They ran for Hours and finally arrived at the seventh forest.
When they got to the tree. The deer couldn't believe his eyes.
"Tortoise You Were actually right! You actually knew a shortcut. I must say I never truly believed you. But I guess seeing is believing."
The Deer approached the tree mimicking the steps of a king.
As he attempted to pluck the fruit, a very Huge Lion came out of nowhere. This Lion was as big as an elephant. He spoke in a deep voice.
"Who dares to pluck the FOOD for the gods?"
The deer replied in fear
"Don't kill us oh great Lion. Feerkan the last lion sent us"
With that the lion let them pluck the fruit.
As they were About to leave, tortoise suggested that he should be the one to hold the fruit so that the deer can run comfortably on all four. The Deer saw it as a good idea, so he agreed. They headed for the village in full speed.
*******************************
Few hours later the cheetah arrived at the tree, but he couldn't see any fruit. He got angry and started cursing and swearing.
"That old fool pranked us. There is no fruit here and he sent us on this useless mission."
The Lion stepped out once again
"How dare you speak ill about your king. He didn't Prank you, rather You are late. Someone else was here first."
"That's not possible, nobody is faster than me. I kept looking back, nobody was close enough to overtake me."
" Well the fastest does not always win the race."
*******************************
Back at the king's palace, the deer could be seen running with speed into the king's lair while tortoise sat comfortably at his back.
They Approached the king, and tortoise handed the fruit over to the king.
Then the Trumpets were blown, the animals were gathered.
"I am a man of my word. The Tortoise was the first to come back with the fruit, therefore I hear by pronounce the tortoise KING OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM."
There was mixed reactions and murmurings among the animals.
*******************************
The Deer quickly went to the tortoise
"What is happening? This wasn't our agreement"
"I know, but what the king has written is written, and what he says is final."
*******************************
*******************************
This is A freewrite using Writing Prompt #20 by @promptlyjonica.
Don't forget to join #Promplyjonica for much more fun.
*******************************
$toryTeller👻
This is a wonderful story. It feels very much like a fable. I enjoyed it a lot. I feel like you could write a much longer story, showing the enmity of the different animals to each other, showing the goodness ( yet trickiness) of the tortoise and how his smarts really qualify him as the new ruler.
I suggest you keep this story (maybe print it out) and expand upon it. Go deeper into the personalities of all the animals. Make us really love them or really hate them. You could have a full children's book ready to go!
Let me know if you are interested in this idea and if you would like my help.