Free Pride of the Plains by Colin Dann Page A

competing for the scraps remaining from the lions’ repast. The cubs, as usual, were the first to rouse and their antics quickly awoke the lionesses. Huru and Kimya knew that now was the time to give them the news of Moja.
    â€˜Listen, all of you!’ Huru’s eager voice made them pay attention at once. ‘Your brother Moja isn’t lost. He has been seen and he’s healthy and coming back to us.’
    The cubs’ reaction was not what she and Kimya had expected. As time had gone on the youngsters hadstopped asking about Moja and had all but forgotten him. Now they were quiet while they tried to deal with what were only faint memories of their missing playmate. Huru and Kimya helped by reminding them of some early incidents when they had all been together. Mbili and Tatu particularly became very excited then.
    â€˜Our brother’s coming! Our brother’s coming!’ they cried, beginning to look out for him there and then. Nne, Tano and Sita, their cousins, were drawn into the excitement.
    â€˜Wait,’ said Kimya. ‘He has to find us first. We don’t know how far away he is. But he will come.’
    â€˜One day we’ll all be together again,’ Huru added.
    Battlescars was aroused by the lively cubs. He began to think about Moja and how a sturdy cub who had managed to survive on his own for so long would be an asset to the defence of the pride. Battlescars had felt vulnerable since his brother’s death and badly needed allies. The cubs were too young to be of any use yet, but in Moja’s case there was the prospect of a male with real strength and courage that he could rely on in the future.
    For Battlescars knew his days as the dominant lion were numbered. He was aware that his strength was ebbing and that soon there would be challenges to his authority that he couldn’t meet. Moreover, he didn’t feel like waiting on the off chance that one day Moja would find his pride. He – Battlescars – wanted to ensure it.
    â€˜It’s time I went to look for Moja,’ he announced suddenly. ‘I shall search for him high and low until I find him.’
    Huru and Kimya felt some surprise. It was unusual for an adult male to show such concern for a cub. The sisters exchanged glances, then looked at Battlescarsthrough new eyes. He looked back at them steadily, proudly. He understood their thoughts.
    â€˜We need him here,’ he said.

—9—
A Rescue
    Moja was still longing for the day when he could cross back over the river. Whenever he could he went to look at it, willing its flow to diminish. And, with the onset of the dry season, the river’s level
was
beginning to drop. But not fast enough for the fretting lion cub. Sometimes he was in such a froth of impatience that he would wonder about taking the plunge and swimming across. Then the memory of the river’s power would deter him. Meanwhile he stayed close to his new friends, the black rhino calf and mother.
    The rhinos preferred bush to open country on the whole. Where they went Moja followed. The two youngsters became firm companions and Moja gave the rhino calf a name: Pembe, meaning horn. The lion cub felt safe in the bush. The rhinos had no enemies now that Pembe was too big to arouse the interest of predators. So, as long as Moja didn’t stray far from them, he was well protected. Small mammals, reptiles and birds were easy for him to find, but he missed the taste of richer meat: antelope, buffalo or zebra. He fretted about his family. He knew nothing about its fortunes since they had become separated. He often wondered if the pride was still together or even alive.
    The cub came to hate the river although he andthe rhinos frequently drank from it. It was the one impassable barrier to fulfilling his constant dream. His vigils on its bank continued. Pembe tried to encourage him. ‘The water’s getting lower,’ he would often say. ‘Mother Kifaru says it