II



"You let him get away?!" roared Claw.

"Calm down, Boss," pleaded Tom the Hyena in the animal equivalent of a lower-east- side accent. "It's not our fault."

"Yeah, not our fault," echoed Tab.

"Of course it is!" roared the lion. "You let Kimba beat you! I'm King of the jungle! You're supposed to enforce my laws: No humans in my jungle!"

"But Bowwwas," drawled Tom, "Kimba is too good of a fighter. Besides, all the animals of the jungle look to him as their leader, not you. There are too many of them to keep in line."

"Yeah, keep in line," said Tab.

"Kimba, Kimba! Kimba!! I'm going to destroy him for GOOD this time!"

"But Clawww, how are you going to do that?" asked Tom.

"Yeah, do that?" said Tab.

"Silence!" Claw roared in their faces. The hyenas jumped ten feet straight in the air and landed hard, causing them to yelp.

"Claw," said devious Cassius, "I have a plan. Let's get another group of animals to take over the jungle. Promise them that they can have the territory and all the food therein, and they will look to you as their king forever."

"Excellent!" agreed Claw. "But what group of animals will do that?" Cassius whispered something to Claw, who eyed the hyenas and smiled in a mean way.

"Tom, Tab!" roared Claw. The hyenas shot into the air again. "I have a job for you!"

"Yes, Boss, whatever you say!" said Tom, eagerly.

"Yeah, whatever you say!" said Tab.

"Go to the desert and round up all the hyenas you know," ordered Claw. "Tell them to come to the jungle and take over Kimba's kingdom. I'll help them conquer the land, and I will be their King!"

"But Boss," complained Tom, "none of the other hyenas will come near the jungle. They're all too scared."

"Scared of what?" growled Cassius.

"Of the white lion," said Tom. "The white lions always chased the hyenas away from the jungle because the hyenas would attack the human natives. They think that the magic of the white lion still lives in the shrine in the deserted village. I'm telling you, Boss, they won't go for it."

"No!" yelled Claw. "I can't believe you hyenas are so cowardly and superstitious! I don't even know why I keep you two around here!"

"Wait, Claw," said Cassius softly. "I have information that the white lion hides are no longer in the deserted village. They've been taken elsewhere, far away from the jungle. If the hyenas knew that, they might be persuaded to go along with our plan."

"Tom, Tab!" said Claw. "If the hyenas thought that the white lion's magic was gone, would they enter the jungle?"

"I don't know, Boss," shrugged Tom with his paws facing upward, "but we could try it."

"Yeah, try," said Tab.

"Don't try, DO!" ordered Claw. "Go tell every hyena you can find that the magic of the white lion has vanished, and to meet at the deserted village! Together we will take over the jungle! GO! NOW!!"

Tom and Tab ran away with their arms in the air, yelping in their characteristic way. "Come on, Cassius," said Claw. "Let's go to the deserted village. I want to be there when the hyenas arrive!"

NARRATOR: Meanwhile, Kimba was showing Ignotso many of the animals' fine accomplishments.

"This is our schoolhouse," explained Kimba, "where all the young animals come to learn. Roger Ranger, our friend, taught us how to talk and write like humans. Now we teach each other."

"Amazing," said Ignotso.

Kimba lead Ignotso for another few minutes. "This is our farm where we all work together to grow crops. Since our first harvest, we've always had enough food for everyone."

"Unbelievable," remarked Ignotso.

A little while later, they were standing next to a huge tree with several levels of patio built around the trunk. "This is our restaurant, where all the animals can pick any food they want. Now no one has to fight over food anymore."

"It's too much to be true," said Ignotso. "In some ways, you animals have learned to live better than humans."

"Just wait until you see our amusement park," Kimba said proudly.

Ignotso laughed, stooped down, and patted Kimba on the head. "You have a lot to be proud of, Kimba. It's a good thing this place is protected from humans. Why, they'd take it all for themselves just for greed."

"Would they really, Ignotso?" Kimba looked concerned.

"Yes, but they can't. You see, this jungle is part of a huge tract of land that's protected by law. It's one of the few truly wild places left on Earth, so other countries give the government a lot of money in foreign aid to leave it exactly the way it is. People would love to develop this land. They would farm it like you do; they would mine the sulfur and coal and saltpeter to make gunpowder; they would take away the artifacts left by natives; they would even cut down the trees for wood. But the Interior Department allows very few people in the jungle. I'm a rare exception. Almost every hunter you've ever seen has been here illegally."

"Oh," said Kimba. "I didn't know that. I guess there are still a lot of things I have to learn about this jungle."

Kitty approached them, taking her morning walk. A pair of brightly colored butterflies darted and floated above her head as she went. Kimba noticed how pretty her fur looked in the morning sunlight, and a soft smile crossed his face. He was about to tell her good morning, when Dan'l Baboon and Pauley Cracker hurried towards him from the opposite direction.

"Kimba! Kimba!" cried Pauley. "There's a huge gathering of hyenas in the deserted village, and Claw is there with them. I think something's up!"

"You're right!" agreed Kimba. "I should go and investigate! But I promised Ignotso I would take him to the stone temple today, and it's a long ways away."

Ignotso said, "I don't want you to leave the jungle when there might be trouble, Kimba."

"I know how I can help," Kitty spoke softly. Everyone looked at her. "I can take Ignotso to the stone temple. I know Leona, so I can introduce him to her."

"Would you, really?" said Kimba brightly. "Gee, thanks Kitty! It would be a big favor. I'll make it up to you, I promise!"

"And I promise I won't attack your sister this time," said Kitty. They both laughed at the inside joke and bopped foreheads together. Kitty and Ignotso began to walk away.

"Good bye, Ignotso!" called Kimba. "Good bye, Kitty! Be careful!"

"Good bye, Kimba! I'll see you soon!"

Dan'l, Pauley, and Kimba watched them go, and then turned towards the deserted village. Dan'l spoke to Pauley behind Kimba's back. "That Kimba and Kitty make a good team together - always helping each other out to get the job done."

Kimba heard him. "Yes, Dan'l, but the real reason I'm happy is because I don't want Kitty and Ignotso to be here when there could be danger. Come on, let's go!"

* * *

Tom, Tab, Cassius, and Claw stood atop the steps to the entrance of the dilapidated old shrine in the deserted village. The ground below was crawling with sharp clawed, vicious fanged hyenas, yelping, barking, and wrestling. Claw grew impatient. "Quiet!" he roared at the top of his voice. All the animals became stone quiet and looked at the four of them. "OK, it's your turn," he said to Tom and Tab. "Make it good."

"OK!" said Tom. "You tell 'em, Tab."

"No! You tell 'em, Tom!" said Tab.

"No! You tell 'em!" said Tom.

"Just tell them!" roared Claw. Tom and Tab jumped backward into each other's arms and yelped for a little while. Then Tom turned to the gathering and addressed the motley crew.

"OK!" he started. "This is what we brought you here to tell you! You have all been too scared to live in the jungle because you have been afraid of the white lion and his magic. Well, look up here at the shrine! The hides of the white lions aren't here anymore, so all the magic is gone, too!"

"Yeah, magic gone too!" chimed Tab.

"The only white lion left is a little pussy cat named Kimba." Tab continued. "If you get him now, he won't grow up to be big, and you'll never have to worry about white lions ever again."

Tab jabbed his fist in the air. "Yeah, ever again!"

"This is King Claw," said Tom. "He's going to help you conquer the jungle. There's a lot more food in the jungle than out in the desert. This is the best chance you'll ever get to take it all for yourselves," Tom pointed at himself, "or yours truly, Tom the Hyena is a monkey's uncle."

"Yeah! Tom's a monkey's uncle!" Tom turned, sneered at Tab, and clobbered him over the head. Tab just stood there with a lump on his brow and saw stars.

Tom said, "All you have to do is overrun Kimba and the other jungle animals. There are so many of you, it'll be a snap. What do you say?"

"YEAH!!!" In unison, all of the hyenas charged out of the deserted village and headed towards the heart of Kimba's kingdom.

"Well done, Tom and Tab," said Cassius in his low voice. "You two are the stupidest imbeciles I've ever seen, but at last you did something right for a change. It was bound to happen eventually. Even idiots are right by mistake sometimes."

"Thanks, Cassius!" Tom said smiling. "Almost makes you want to treat us with more respect, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, more respect, doesn't it?" said Tab.

"Quit yakking and join the rest of the hyenas in the attack!" ordered Cassius. Tom and Tab ran after the pack yelping, arms in the air, in full retreat from their boss.

* * *

Kimba, Dan'l, and Pauley were approaching the deserted village. "Kimba, what's that rumbling sound in the distance?" asked Dan'l.

"I don't know," said Kimba, "but it sounds like a large group of animals running." He looked up and gasped with his mouth hanging open. A whole sea of hyenas was charging towards them across the savanna. Kimba stood in wide-eyed shock for a few seconds. "No!" he shouted. "No! No! NO!!"

"Kimba! What are we going to do?!" squawked Pauley.

"Run!" yelled Kimba. "Pauley! You fly ahead and call an emergency meeting of all the animals! This is ten times worse then I thought it would be!" The three of them turned around and retreated at full speed.


Chapter III