Lions are known to be a dangerous predator to humans. Mysterious, majestic and powerful, you would always get a strange sensation when you come face to face with them. If you are lucky enough one day to go on safari and see them, you would know what I am talking about. My mum told me this story when I was a small girl and I loved it and today I want to share it with you.

Lion with his mark on the front head

King of the Marsh

The Legend 

 There is a story about one lion,  why today all the lions have a mark on their fore head, you can notice it in the pictures.

The story says, a long time ago when animals were able to speak with humans, there was a woman called Tenar, living in the dark forest with her husband. She left her home because she wasn’t happy with her husband.   

He was always working away from home to provide for his family  and was rarely at home. When he was at home he was just violent with her. Tenar couldn’t conceives, so she decided to join her family back in small village as she couldn’t make her husband happy.

One night knowing that her husband was going away for the week, she decided to leave, but in this dark forest, predators were always watching you looking for an opportunity to strike.

Walking along the dense forest, she could hear all strange sounds of nocturnal animals.

That night, she didn’t stop to rest and kept on walking. In the early hours of the morning, she stopped and had a little sleep, she thought it will be safe for her to sleep during the day and walk during the night as she could be more aware of any danger.

Tenar knew that it will take her about a week to reach her final destination and that she had to find a way to feed herself, not easy task when you are not a hunter.

Finding wild berries and roots to eat to feed herself with, she kept on going but it wasn’t enough.

Hyena

One morning before she could find a place to rest, she stopped by the river to get a drink of water. She met a hyena, she knew at this moment of time, her life was in danger, hyenas never travel alone. The hyena asked: “Are you traveling alone young lady?” Tenar: “I am not alone” and she added, “Hyena, drink your water and leave, I am not good for you, I am sick and I am going back to my family to rest in peace”. Hyenas are not foolish, they know humans tell lies for saving their lives.The Hyena replied to her, ” I can definitely end your pain and this way my family and I can have something to eat, we haven’t eaten for a week”

Tenar felt her heart beating so fast, she was trying to find a way to escape but she was surrounded by three hyenas, she knew that it was too late and she will never see her family again.

Suddenly they heard a big roar coming from behind the bushes. A lion appeared with his beautiful and gold mane, so powerful, so majestic. 

The hyenas ran when they saw the lion.

Tenar was petrified, she couldn’t move, she was paralysed, she knew this time, her end arrived, no one will fight with the king of the jungle.

The lion was coming towards her so slowly, and said to her ” What is your name young lady and what are you doing here by yourself ?” Tenar was so scared that she couldn’t answer him, she wanted to speak but her lips couldn’t move.

Then the lion said ” I have been watching you and following you now for three days and if I wanted to kill you, I would have done it, so young lady answer to my questions.”

Tenar answered  to the questions and explained the reason of her trip.

The lion replied to her ” Jump on my back and show me the way, I will take you there safely”.

Tenar couldn’t have dreamed of having a better protector.

They spent the last three days together and of course Tenar had so many questions for him, like a child discovering new toys and why he was helping her.

The answer of the lion was simple, he didn’t want humans to think of him as a predator but as a protector.

One day the lion was going for a hunt in early morning light, he brought back a zebra, tenar was really happy to fill her empty belly but she stopped eating when she saw how the lion was eating and felt a little bit disgusted.

They finally arrived to Tenar’s parents house and the lion hid himself behind the house and lets her go to join her family.

That night her parents asked her how did she manage to survive by going through the forest and she told them everything about her meeting with the lion and how he saved her but then she also said how she could smell his bad breath when riding his back, and how she felt disgusted when he was eating.

What she didn’t know , the lion was at the window listening to everything she said and he was so hurt and knew how to end it once and for all.

Two days later, Tenar was working in the field , cutting the long grass with the scythe, the lion approached her and Tenar was happy to see him again but she felt very strange when looking into his eyes, it was like he was looking through her.

Then the lion told her the truth, he heard everything she said about him and was really hurt after having helped her to reach her destination.

So the lion said, “Lets do a deal Tenar,  with your scythe, hit me between the eyes and if I don’t die, I will kill and eat you. If I died, you will be able to tell your story about me to anyone on earth”.

Tenar was terrified, she replied ” I can’t do that, you helped me, you saved me, you fed me , you carried me on your back until here, it’s not something I can do, I do not have the strength!”

The lion yelled ” you found the strength to embarrass me in front of your family, so hit me now and we will decide the outcome now!”

Tenar  hit the lion between the eyes, and the lion survived and carried out his promises , and killed her.

From that day on, all lions on earth have this mark between their eyes. Maybe next time you see a lion, you will think about this story and you might understand why they can see through us.

The Lion today

I hope you enjoyed this story, a little bit long, thanks for reading.