Cactapopo

Jungle

Mwangi Muchiri

Cactapopo Jungle

Published Queenex Publishers Ltd

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ISBN: 978-9966-142-03-0

iii

About the Book

The book is one among a set of several books aimed

at strengthening the social pillar of the continent of

Africa and the world at large by educating young

citizens about important personal and national

values that strengthen the society’s social ber by

way of illustrative stories. It is designed to help train

Preparatory, Upper Primary and Middle School

(Lower Secondary) students on leadership and

character development.

The book presents the learner with an

understanding of global concepts such as the United

Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights

(UDHR), United Nations Sustainable Development

Goals (SDGs) as well as democratic ideals.

The book also furnishes the learner with an

applied knowledge of economics concepts such as

resource allocation, economic growth, value addition

and international trade.

To enhance the assimilation of the principles

contained in the book, the author has developed

a student workbook that forms the foundation

of an intense certied leadership and personal

development training experience as well as a

facilitator’s guide. The leadership experience achieves

heightened levels of effectiveness when the mode

of instruction is through group discussion forums

where the teacher, parent or mentor serves as a

facilitator. This is a personal branding experience

second to none.

In developing the book and the complementary

student workbook and facilitator’s guide, the author

envisions the child/learner to be a raw gem that

requires meticulous polishing and branding - a

masterpiece requiring great nurture and care to

bring out the best in them.

From the Author

For too long, Africa has lagged behind where

sound leadership is concerned. Poor leadership is

responsible for the negative image portrayed of our

continent by foreign media. To a big extent, Africa

has earned the negative tag line. The high incidents of

inter-ethnic skirmishes, civil war, massive corruption,

unstable governments, human rights violations, food

insecurity, unsustainable use and plunder of natural

resources, rising unemployment and numerous other

social ills are real incidents happening in many spots

on the continent. Yet within Africa lies potential for

leadership development greater than in any other

continent. Our traditional values are relatively intact

but harnessing our values and translating them to

formidable principles in the minds, hearts and lives

of our people remains a big challenge.

Leadership should not be a preserve of a select

few. Personal leadership is a skill that must be

engrained in all our people. It is time to invest in

every citizen, qualities of a great leader because

once we transform our human resource into

credible people of solid repute and character, our

governments, corporate world and individual lives

will begin to reect a new determination to rise out

of the doldrums and step into a new podium of a

renewed continent striving for growth, productivity

and economic prosperity. We cannot have a better

country or continent unless we invest in our people;

equipping them with a vibrant zeal to create a

better world for themselves and posterity. This is

an initiative that must be embraced by all who care

about the welfare of our nation and continent.

When Louis XVI of France had been taken

from his throne and imprisoned, his captors took

the king’s young son, to a community far away,

and there they exposed the young prince to every

lthy and despicable thing that life could offer.

They exposed him to delicious foods to make him

a slave to appetite. They used foul language around

him constantly and exposed him to pornographic

material. He was surrounded 24 hours a day by

morally degrading activities. They thought that

inasmuch as the king’s son was heir to the throne,

if they could destroy him morally, he would never

realise the great destiny that life had bestowed upon

him.

For over six months he had this treatment but not

once did the young prince cave in under pressure.

Finally, after intensive temptation, they questioned

him on why he had not submitted himself to these

vii

things which would have provided pleasure and

satised his innate desires.

The boy said, “I cannot do what you ask, for I

was born to be a king.”

By investing in our young citizens leadership

and character development tools, we equip them

with a mechanism to do the right thing even if no

one else does it not because they think it will change

the world but because they refuse to be changed by

the world.

Mwangi Muchiri

viii

To Sarah Tehilla my beloved daughter and a

new Generation of Youngsters struggling to nd

themselves in the perilous jungle we call life.

Chapter 1

It was a cold chilly evening and all the animals

in Cactapopo Jungle were trembling with fear and

whispering to each other. King Lion had called for

a meeting. He gazed at each animal in the eye and

sent shivers down their spine.

“I have summoned you here because some

strange news has reached my royal ears. It has

come to my distinguished attention that some of

you are planning a coup to overthrow me. I have

been informed by reliable sources that some lthy

scumbags are planning to dethrone me. Let it be

known to all you miserable dimwits that I am the

king and I will rule forever!” roared the king of the

jungle.

“You will rule forever mighty king!” shouted

the hyena as he bowed his head. “The dirty animals

must be exterminated!”

“Nobody will be put to death!” thundered the

elephant. “We have had enough deaths in the past!”

The lion looked at the elephant angrily and

roared in anger. “How dare you make the rules?”

Then he turned to the hyena and called out. “Hyena!”

The lion looked at the elephant angrily...

“Yes, my king.”

“Can you deal with the elephant at once!”

The hyena looked at the elephant and decided

that one quick bite on the leg would be enough to

subdue him. He made a quick move and jumped

on to huge elephant who calmly lifted his long

muscular trunk and gave the hyena a resounding

blow on the head. The hyena fell like a heavy log

and limped away painfully.

“It is time to change the laws and the constitution,”

said the elephant calmly. The other animals clapped

their hands happily. “We do not even have credible

laws. Our only law is that lion will rule forever.

This is totally unfair. We must have laws that will

be acceptable to most of us. We need laws that will

advance the cause of the jungle and improve the

welfare of the animals. With all due respect, the king

has been a very selsh leader. Selsh leaders make

bad laws that benet only themselves. We need laws

that will make our jungle a better place. Without

good laws, we cannot have good governance, justice

and strong institutions.”

“I think we need a new king,” shouted monkey

as he climbed the nearest tree. “We are tired of poor

leadership. Life on land has become unbearable. Your

poor leadership has made us all poor and some of

our friends have died of hunger.”

“I agree,” said the hornbill as he ew and sat on

elephant’s raised trunk. “We need a king who will

bring economic development to the jungle. For the

last few years, the jungle’s economy has not grown

at all.”

“I agree,” said the parrot. “We need a king who

will bring progress to the jungle.”

The lion opened his mouth wide in complete

amazement. How could this be happening under

his royal nose? The other animals seemed to be

enjoying themselves. He needed to do something,

but the presence of the elephant made it difcult to

deal with the animals. He needed time to plan on

how to dispense with the elephant.

“I declare this meeting closed!” roared King Lion.

“I will summon you again very soon!”

“We are going nowhere!” said the hippopotamus

who had walked in a while back. “I cannot travel

all this way from Lake Kiletu just to be sent home

without a proper meeting. We need to know the way

forward. I must also say that we are sick and tired

of poor leadership. I do not think that we can call

what we have in our jungle leadership. Although I

live in water, I am affected by the many bodies of

animals I see being thrown into the lake. I do not

support the assassination of innocent animals. This

is not leadership! If it looks like a duck, walks like a

pig, barks like a dog and smells like a skunk, then

it’s very uncertain what animal it is. That is the state

of leadership in this jungle!”

“Get him!” roared King Lion to the hyena.

The hyena looked at the hippo and shook his

head. “I am feeling a bit unwell.”

Everything was beginning to change. He realised

that the animals had ganged up against him. But he

had one more friend. The snake could not let him

down.

“Give that slimy hippo a dose of venom and

teach him a lesson!” King Lion ordered the snake.

The snake lifted his head and moved toward the

hippopotamus. Before he could get close enough to

sink his teeth into the huge animal, the porcupine

shot some sharp quills at the snake and hit the eye,

tail and body.

The snake took off hissing in great pain as the

other animals cheered loudly. They soon began to

shout; “We want a new king! We want a new king!

We want a new king!”

“Why?” asked King Lion. “Have I not always

protected you from being harmed by humans? Have

I not ensured that there is peace in the jungle?”

“How many of my little ones have you eaten?”

asked lady gazelle after requesting the animals to

quiet down and listen to her. “You have caused

more harm to me than the humans. My heart has

known no peace each morning when you eat one of

my young ones. If your only achievement is peace

and protection, I am dying to have you removed!

Nothing that you do can erase the harm that you

have caused!”

“And you do not listen to us at all,” croaked

the frog. “There is lots of inequality in our jungle,

where meat eaters treat others like their life is not

important. Animals who live in water are completely

ignored. We want equal treatment in the jungle. We

are not slaves!”

“You do not have any development record or a

manifesto detailing what you intend to do for us

in the future,” buzzed the bee.

“You are only there to gratify your own bodily

appetites,” chirped the sparrow.

“Preying on other animals is totally unacceptable!”

trumpeted the elephant. “Enough of you! We want

another king now! We want a king who treats all

genders with dignity and respect!”

“Allow me to speak,” said the eagle. “King Lion

lacks vision and wisdom. He does not have the

qualities of a good leader. What this jungle needs

is better leadership and freedom. The king has no

principles and is governed by his big appetite for

little things. If we could give him wings to y, he

would y no higher than his belly. We have had

enough of this king!”

King Lion opened his mouth to talk but no words

came out. The animals were too numerous for him,

and they were very bold and united. It was true that

he had become proud and very greedy. Each day, he

gobbled a gazelle calf all by himself. Animals feared

him, and they never complained. He wondered

what had changed. Elephant must have plotted to

overthrow him so as to become the next king. There

was need to nip this plan in the bud.

“I know who has planned this rebellion and I

will deal with him myself. You will know that I shall

reign as king forever.”

King Lion then pounced on elephant and tried to

wrestle him to the ground. However, elephant was

too strong to be thrown down. He tossed King Lion

high into the air. The king cried out for mercy as he

came crashing to the ground with a loud thud. He

broke a leg and groaned in agony.

He limped on three legs and requested for help,

but no animal cared.

“I have resigned as your king,” he said. “I have

been a bad king, but I hope that you will not kill me.”

“We will not kill you,” said elephant. “You

have been hurt because you tried to hurt me. As the

proverb goes, you reap what you sow.”

“I know that you want to be the new king, but

please let me be your assistant,” requested King Lion.

“I do not want to be the new king,” replied

elephant. “I am an elder and a teacher. I will continue

to educate the animals on what is good. A teacher

inuences the minds of future generations and

determines the culture of the jungle.”

“Who then should be king?” asked lion

expectantly.

“Let the animals decide,” said the elephant.

“Let the animals decide,” repeated the parrot.

“Not again!” shouted monkey to parrot. “When

will you ever say something original.”

“Your face is not original,” said parrot and some

animals burst out laughing.

“This is not the time for little jokes and small

talk!” trumpeted elephant. “We have a big problem

to take care of. We want better leadership in the

jungle. We are demanding to have a better king!”

“I will be the king,” boasted the peacock as he

displayed his beautiful feathers for all to see. “Have

you ever seen such beauty in all creation? All the

jungle needs is a good looking king.”

“Nonsense!” shouted the snake. “I am more

beautiful. Your feathers can be plucked but my

beautiful skin is permanent. I will make a better

king.”

“Never!” shouted the chameleon. “I am the most

beautiful thing on earth because I can even change

my skin colour to reect the colours of the rainbow.”

He then changed himself to look like the rainbow.

“Enough of this nonsense!” shouted the tortoise.

“Beauty alone is not enough to make a king. You

can have beautiful feathers and ugly feet.”

The animals laughed and cheered wildly.

“Very true,” shouted the snake. “We don’t want

ugly feet.”

“You can also have a beautiful skin but a shallow

mindset,” continued the tortoise. “A leader must

have some qualities that will help others enjoy their

lives and to grow in a safe jungle. A king should

be caring about other animals and should bring

development to this jungle. Other animals should

benet from the visionary leadership of a king. I

dare say that a leader must have a plan on how to

achieve improved standards of living for jungle

animals. We want development in our jungle.”

“Very true,” agreed the hyena. “Development is

what we need. I will bring great changes into your

lives if you choose me as your new king.”

“Rubbish!” shouted the zebra. “This is not the

time to advertise yourself. You are only interested

in personal gain.”

“I will straighten you out,” said the hyena as he

moved towards the zebra.

“We will not accept any misbehaviour in the

jungle,” said the rhino rmly. “Dare you take one

more step and I will deal with you myself.”

“Rhino should be king,” said the gazelle.

“He cannot be a good leader. He has a very bad

temper,” said the lion angrily. “Why can’t you be

king instead?”

“I cannot be a king,” said the gazelle. “I feel very

inadequate because I was not born with leadership

capabilities.”

“What a loser,” laughed the snake as he twisted

his body into the shape of letter L.

“This is getting us nowhere,” said the giraffe. “I

have had enough for today. Why can’t we come up

with some laws and a constitution? These laws will

guide us on how to choose our king. They will help

us resolve critical issues in the jungle. We must have

a king who will lead us into greater heights of jungle

achievement so that there will be an improvement

in our standards of living. For now, I think that we

should form a committee that will come up with the

new constitution. The lion can continue to be king

so that we do not create a leadership vacuum.”

“What is a committee?” asked the snail. “I once

heard some humans saying that a camel is a horse

made by a committee. Is that true?”

“You are such a slow learner,” said the porcupine.

“Stop bringing human stupidity here.”

“Hey hey hey!” shouted the elephant. “We are

well-mannered animals. We cannot use abusive

language against a fellow animal. Please apologise

to the snail for calling him a slow learner and for

implying that he is stupid.”

“I will not apologise,” said the porcupine. “There

is freedom of speech in the jungle.”

“You will apologise,” roared King Lion. “Giraffe

has said some very wise words. I will remain the

king until we set the laws. One of the rules will be

on how to deal with porcupine. He is very hard to

deal with because of his spikes.”

“The king is right!” shouted the hyena.

“No, he is not,” said the wasp as he gave the

porcupine a very big sting on his nose. The other

animals clapped happily.

“I am very sorry for calling the snail a slow

learner,” cried the porcupine. “I have learnt my

lesson well.”

“This is the funniest thing that has ever happened

in this jungle,” laughed the peacock. “The ugly

porcupine has nally apologised.”

“That’s not even funny,” hissed the snake. “You

need to muzzle your ugly beak.”

Just then, the rabbit came running into the

meeting.

“What brings you here?” roared the lion. “Have

you come to spy on us?”

“No,” replied the rabbit. “I have decided to join

my fellow animals. I will not continue to enjoy the

nice warm blanket in my little house and the nice

food humans give me, yet my fellow animals are

sleeping hungry or being rained on. I want to help

you build nice houses for all animals. No animal

should sleep hungry or sleep outside.”

“Ha ha ha,” laughed King Lion. “You are such

a big dreamer, little animal. Go back to where you

came from. The animals here are not interested in

houses.”

“I think I need a small house,” said the parrot. “I

need to lock up my eggs to prevent the snake from

stealing them.”

“I also need a small house,” screamed the fox.

“I don’t like it when the rain makes my fur wet.”

“That’s enough,” said King Lion. “Rabbit can

help us build small houses for small animals.”

“I also need a house,” said the buffalo. “Sometimes

the sun is so hot, and I need some shade.”

“Enough!” roared King Lion. “Let us now form

the group of animals that will set the new jungle

rules.”

Chapter Review Questions

1. What poor character traits does King Lion portray?

2. What poor character traits does hyena portray?

3. What good character traits does elephant portray?

4. How would you describe the laws of the jungle

(Constitution)?

5. Why have the animals succeeded in confronting

the king with the bitter truth about his poor

leadership and also resisting his attempts to

intimidate them?

6. What are the qualities that a good national leader

needs to have according to the tortoise?

Chapter 2

The animals formed a committee of respected

animals also called the electoral commission.

The committee was tasked with coming up with

modalities of electing a new king. The animals in

the group were giraffe, zebra, antelope, buttery,

tortoise, amingo and hippo. Giraffe was made the

leader of the group.

King Lion then dismissed the animals and told

them to come back to the meeting ground after one

week so that they could elect their new king.

Meanwhile, the committee came up with a list

of qualities that would form the basis of electing

their next king.

They decided that the next king must be:

1. Humble – should relate well with all animals

2. Honest and full of integrity – should tell the

truth at all times

3. Compassionate towards other animals –

values others and should be willing to help

in any way possible

4. Intelligent and judicious – makes decisions

that show good judgement

5. Morally upright/good mannered

• does not steal community property

• does not give or receive a bribe

• should have a good name and

reputation in the jungle

6. Patriotic – puts the interest of the jungle

before self-interest.

7. One that has a manifesto – written plans for

the future.

They also made a law that an animal could only

be king for a ve-year term after which the animals

would conduct a new election. The other law that

they made was that there could only be one king at

a time. After this, they requested the animals who

wanted to be king to appear before the committee.

The snake came rst. He was disqualied because

the committee pointed out that his language was

abusive, and he was not compassionate towards

others. He had a poisonous tongue and could not

be a good leader.

The peacock came second. He showed off his

feathers proudly and announced that he would

make the best king. The committee disqualied

him because he was too proud, narrow minded and

lacked humility.

The hyena came third and was disqualied

because he was too greedy and lacked integrity.

The lion tried to appear before the committee,

but they told him that according to the new rules,

he was not eligible to become king again. Other

animals needed to be given a chance to rule.

Out of all the animals who wanted to be king

only the rabbit, monkey and the brown ant were

deemed to possess the right qualities.

The brown ant was able to prove that he was

very hardworking and wise because he worked all

day and stored food for the future.

Monkey was able to prove that he was very

educated and was willing to teach animals how to

read like humans. He had very detailed manifesto

on how he planned to bring electricity and piped

water to the jungle.

Rabbit proved that he was humble and related

well with other animals. He had also gained much

wisdom from watching how humans lived. He

proved that he loved the jungle so much that he

was willing to sacrice all the things that he enjoyed

in the human country like a nice heated cage, tap

water and an abundant supply of food so that he

could live in the jungle.

When King Lion failed to call the animals for a

meeting after one week, the elephant blew a trumpet

and told the animals to meet at the usual assembly

ground. Giraffe then announced that three animals

had been nominated by the committee as having

desirable characteristics of a leader.

King Lion tried to disrupt the meeting by roaring

loudly and proclaiming that he would eat up all

the small animals, but the rhino and buffalo chased

him away.

The three animals that had been nominated by

the committee were then given one week to conduct

public campaigns and convince the animals why

they should be voted in as king.

The rabbit requested to be given a security team.

He was given a wasp and a buffalo. The ant and

monkey said that they did not need security.

The rabbit travelled across the jungle trying

to convince other animals that he would provide

clean water, build houses and bring security by

making rules that would prevent carnivores like

the lion, cheetah, leopard, snake, eagle and hyena

from preying on other animals.

“No animal will ever eat another animal again

if you make me king,” said rabbit. “Leadership is

not a chance to benet yourself but to serve others.”

Huge crowds came to listen to rabbit speak.

“I could be living in a nice little cage with enough

food and water to satisfy me, but I chose to come

here to live with fellow animals. Do you know why?”

“No!” shouted the animals.

“No animal will ever eat another animal again...”

“Because I have a desire to bring change to the

jungle,” said rabbit. “When was the last time that

you had a conversation with King Lion?”

“We are not even supposed to have such a

thought,” said gazelle. “He only talks to us when

he wants to eat our young ones.”

“This must end!” shouted rabbit. “A leader is a

servant of all. I am not any better than any of you. I

just want to make sure that life becomes better for

animals who have been living in fear and pain. No

more fear! I will replace fear with freedom. I will

replace hunger with full stomachs. I will replace

poverty with wealth. The greatest wealth lies in

each one of us. I will make sure that each animal

has the right opportunity and freedom to develop

their potential to the full. I will pull down the lies

that you have been made to believe. Leadership has

nothing to do with physical appearance. I may be

small, but I have very big plans for us.”

Rabbit paused and looked at each animal in the

eye.

“Are you all listening?”

“Yes!” shouted the animals in unison.

“It is far much better to have a small king with a

big plan than to have a big king with a small plan.”

There was prolonged clapping and cheering

from the animals. As more animals in the jungle

came to hear rabbit speak, he decided to climb on

the back of rhino.

“Can I climb on your back,” he asked rhino.

“Go ahead,” rhino said. “You have my vote.”

“Mine too,” said parrot.

“Your vote is your secret tool,” emphasized

rabbit. “Use it to uproot bad leadership from our

jungle, but please please, please, listen to me. This

is very important. Do not tell anyone who you will

vote for. Let it remain a secret.”

“I want to thank rhino for allowing me to use his

back as my platform. He has the heart of a servant.

He is a servant leader because he is strong to serve.

This is why I came to the jungle. I came to serve and

to sweep away the stench of poor leadership that

has held us back as animals of this great Cactapopo

Jungle. I am no better than rhino because of sitting

on his back. The greatest one among us is the one

who serves. I dare even say that serving God and

others is the highest thing that you can do. Let me

ask you one question. How long has King Lion been

riding on our backs?”

“Many many years,” shouted lady gazelle as

she raised her hands to call for attention. “Not just

on our backs but on our stomachs and heads too.”

“We must say enough! Enough to this kind of

self-seeking leadership,” said rabbit emphatically.

“Enough!” shouted the animals in unison.

“It is not enough to say enough. We must

demonstrate our determination by voting for a

good leader. I do not claim to be a good leader, but

I have a few plans for our jungle and I am sure that

you will all help me to make those plans succeed.”

“We will help you,” shouted the animals.

“Thank you very much, my fellow friends,” said

rabbit. ”I’m moved by your kindness almost to the

point of shedding tears.”

“It’s okay to cry,” said lady gazelle. “Crying has

become part and parcel of our lives.”

Rabbit wiped away a few tears.

“These are not the tears of bitterness that most

of you have cried time and time again. I cry because

my eyes have seen the brightness of a new future.

I see a future where each one of you lives in a nice

house and enjoys lots of food and clean water every

day of the year. I see a future where we will not live

in fear or be treated like unimportant second rate

animals. Each one of you is important to me. Each

one of you is very special and you all have a great

future.”

There was thunderous clapping and dancing.

The animals beat drums and celebrated.

Rhino sobbed and wiped his eyes with leaves.

“I am so happy, he said.”

The noise made by the animals was a source of

much discomfort to King Lion. He decided to come

to the meeting venue. On getting there, he gave a

big roar and the noise died down suddenly.

“Who told you to make all this noise?” he asked

angrily. “Don’t you know that you are disturbing

my peace.”

He then saw rabbit perched on top of rhino.

“Is this little animal the cause of all this noise? If I

give him one bite, he will disappear into my mouth.”

“I am not afraid of your bite King Lion,” said

rabbit boldly. “I am afraid of keeping quiet when

I should raise my voice and speak. I am afraid of

injustice and poor leadership. I am afraid of the

generations after me who will suffer, if I do not take

action today…... and you know what? The animals

are not afraid of you either.”

“We are not afraid!” shouted lady gazelle.

All the animals began to chant. “We are not

afraid!”

Rhino and buffalo stamped their feet and

bellowed menacingly.

King Lion walked away in shame. He was still

limping slightly. When the chanting died down,

rabbit concluded his speech.

“We have started a journey and we will not turn

back.”

“We will not turn back,” shouted the animals.

“You are now free to leave,” concluded rabbit.

The animals dispersed and they danced and

shouted as they went.

The ant did not conduct any public campaigns.

He simply went to the queen ant and fed her some

arrow roots to make sure that she laid as many eggs

as possible. He also went to the red ant, safari ant,

white ant and black ant and gave their queens arrow

roots so that they could lay very many eggs.

The monkey went to the human country and

stole clothes, paper, food and money. He then started

dishing out the stolen items to other animals telling

them that if they made him king, he would give

them a lot of free things.

On the day of the election, the animals turned

up in very large numbers. There was heavy rainfall

which drowned many of the young ants who were

coming to the assembly venue to elect the king. Even

the brown ant was trapped on top of a hill and could

not cast his vote.

Monkey was informed by the committee that he

could not be the king because he lacked integrity.

It was bad manners to give the animals a bribe. He

was corrupt and did not have the character to be a

leader.

“Our values are more important to us than

your money,” said tortoise to monkey. “We will

not sell our values to the highest bidder. You are

disqualied because you are corrupt. We will not

give a thief the chance to lead us. Our leaders must

have integrity! Take your stolen items back to the

humans. We know that they elect corrupt leaders in

human country, but in our jungle, we have no room

for leaders who have no values. A corrupt leader is

like a rotten fruit. They cannot be of much benet to

anyone.” Tortoise then turned to face the animals.

“Monkey is a thief!”

“Monkey is a thief!” shouted the animals in

unison.”

“Can I talk?” asked elephant.

“Go ahead,” said tortoise.

“Listen.. Listen...listen...” began elephant.

“A leader who steals is not a leader but a thief.

Leadership and theft are like oil and water. They

cannot mix. We cannot expect a thief to manage

our jungle. They will steal what is precious to us

and leave us nothing but leftovers like they do in

human country. Do we want to be led by a thief?”

“No!!!” Shouted the animals.

“I am sorry,” pleaded monkey. “From today, I

will not steal or give a bribe or tell parrot that he is

not original. Please vote for me.”

“A bad character is like a bad smell,” said

elephant. “It does not go away easily. We cannot

vote for you now. Take time and work on your

character.”

Giraffe cleared his throat and made the important

announcement. “Now that we only have one choice,

I declare that we have a new king. Put your wings,

paws and hooves together and let us clap for the

new king. King Rabbit is our new king!”

The animals clapped and cheered as rabbit was

made the new king of the jungle. The lion gave him

his crown and all animals were very happy. The

celebration of the animals could be heard many

kilometres away. There had never been such dancing

and happiness in Cactapopo Jungle before.

Chapter Review Questions

1. In addition to the qualities mentioned in the

list animals used to select a king, what other

qualities/values should a leader have?

2. Why is corruption bad for a country?

3. What are the good qualities that made rabbit,

monkey and brown ant to be nominated as

candidates to vie for the kingship?

4. Why is tribalism wrong and how does it reveal

itself in the chapter?

Chapter 3

Two days after being sworn in as the new king

in a ceremony marked with pomp and colour, King

Rabbit sat on the throne a terried king. Although

he was well guarded by buffalo, wasp and rhino,

the distant roar of the lion and the howl of the jackal

made him afraid. A law had been passed that no

animal should eat another animal. All animals were

supposed to eat grass, herbs and leaves. Lion was

very angry at having lost his position. He roared

angrily throughout the day as if to remind all animals

that he was still powerful. Hyena had complained

bitterly that his spots were beginning to disappear

due to lack of meat in the diet but was told off by

the herbivores.

“You can live without spots,” said the buffalo to

hyena. “Most of us have lived that way all our lives.

External appearance without internal principles is

of no practical value. It is useless!”

On day three after rabbit had been declared

king, it was reported that leopard had tried chasing

warthog. Leopard claimed that it was just a game,

but warthog insisted that it was not just a playful

chase.

“I escaped death by a whisker,” complained

warthog to the king. “I do not feel safe in the jungle

anymore.”

It was also reported that kingsher went on

with his habit of catching sh. Hyena said that he

could smell sh in kingsher’s stomach. King Rabbit

realised that something needed to change before the

carnivores trivialised his endeavor to introduce new

laws and policies in the jungle. He called a meeting

and spoke to the animals.

“I have called this meeting to set a few things

straight,” began King Rabbit. “Many things need to

change. I will not allow any animal to eat another

animal. If it is reported that you have eaten any

other animal, you will be put to death. Fish are also

animals.”

“No way!” roared lion. “Fish and insects are not

animals.”

Elephant blew the trumpet and moved towards

lion with his trunk raised.

“Leave him alone,” ordered King Rabbit.

“Everyone is entitled to their opinion. But next time

raise your paw before you speak. It is bad manners

to interrupt the king.”

“Leave him alone,” ordered King Rabbit.

The lion looked at elephant and rhino who had

their sharp weapons pointed at him, ready to attack.

“I am sorry,” murmured lion as if to himself.

King Rabbit then asked all animals to follow him

to the river which was a few metres away from the

meeting place. When all animals were gathered by

the river bank, elephant cut down two trees and set

up a raised platform for the new king.

“I will not take much of your time,” said King

Rabbit. “The rst thing we must decide is if sh and

insects are animals.”

A big number of sh popped their eyes out from

the water in disbelief. They were happy that someone

was beginning to recognise them.

“We came to the river because we cannot expect

the sh to come to the land. In human language,

we usually say that if the mountain cannot come to

Mahomet, then Mahomet must go to the mountain.”

Lion was about to open his mouth then

remembered and raised his paw.

“What do you have to say?” asked King Rabbit.

“We do not understand this Mahomet nonsense.”

“Mind your language, old lion,” warned King

Rabbit. “I do not like your tone or choice of words.

Understood?”

The lion gave a mighty big roar which scared

many animals. The sh quickly ducked their heads

back into the water while the gazelle and zebra

almost ran away.

“Do your work security!” ordered King Rabbit.

Immediately, porcupine shot several arrows

which pierced lion’s face and made him cry out.

He tried to run away but elephant blocked his path.

Wasp stung him in the nose several times while the

skunk aimed a jet of stinking body liquid into his

face. As if that was not enough punishment, giraffe

gave lion a big kick sending him ying across to the

other side of the river.

All the animals cheered wildly. They were happy

to see that justice was nally coming to the jungle.

Even the sh blew bubbles in the water as their way

of celebrating.

“I have one question to the sh,” continued King

Rabbit. “Are you plants or are you animals?”

“We are animals!” shouted the sh in unison.

“You have all heard it for yourselves,” said the

king. “All sh are animals. This means that no animal

can eat sh. Can the baboon add that to our laws.”

“Yes, I will, King Rabbit,” promised the baboon.

Just then, dung beetle arrived at the meeting

venue carrying with him a huge dung ball.

“Sorry I am late,” he said. “I was not sure if I

was invited for the meeting.”

“I will ask you what I asked the sh. Are you a

plant or an animal?”

“I am an animal who loves rolling the poo.”

The animals laughed, and King Rabbit continued

talking to them.

“It is now very clear that insects and sh are

animals.”

“No animal can kill another animal. Anyone

seen killing, eating or chasing with the intention of

eating another animal must be put to death. This is

now one of the laws. We now have two basic animal

rights. Every animal has the right to life and every

animal has the right to express their opinion without

being disrespected.”

“I will now give you a few words of wisdom

after which we can embark on building our jungle.

Although the former king believed in ruling through

fear and oppression, I believe in servant leadership.

I believe in consultative leadership. I believe in

smart leadership. Leading through intelligence is

far better than leading through fear. Together, we

must intelligently develop solutions to the problems

that affect us.”

“I will begin by telling you three things about the

river. There is a lot that we can learn from the river

but the three things I want all animals to learn are

as follows. The rst thing is that the river has lots of

determination. When a rock stands before a river,

the river does not give up and stop. It either creates

a way around the rock or it knocks the rock and

cracks or wears it out. Sometimes, a river will even

carry heavy rocks downstream when it has the right

strength, or it can go underground and disappear

from view for several kilometres. This must be our

attitude and way of life. We must not easily give up

when things do not go our way. We must bounce

back, get another plan and move forward. In human

country, we call it resilience.”

The animals clapped and cheered their king.

King Rabbit continued. “The second thing that

we can learn from the river is that we are only of

use to our fellow animals when we stick to our

course. When the river overows and goes outside

the riverbed, it becomes very harmful. A river’s

usefulness depends on how well it sticks to its

designated path. As jungle animals, we must stick

to our principles and values. We must be animals

that keep our word and live our lives in service to

each other. When we move out of our path to follow

bad habits and selsh ways, we are a danger to the

jungle and to ourselves.

“Very true,” agreed leopard who had been very

quiet after seeing how lion was punished by the

security team. “I will now use my strength to serve

other animals and will even eat grass like a gazelle.

Please forgive me for trying to catch my friend

warthog. I am always going to support King Rabbit.”

All animals cheered as they watched leopard

chew a reed from the river.

“I am very happy for your change in behaviour

although you interrupted my speech,” continued

King Rabbit. “Life is lived better when we serve

others rather than when we use them as a ladder to

reach our many goals. I will now tell you about the

third lesson that I want us to learn from the river.

A river gives life and a refreshing drink to plants

and animals everywhere it goes. It does not choose

which plant to water or which animal to give a

drink. Notice that the greenest place in our jungle

is where the river ows. This should be the habit

of every animal. You must be one that brings life

wherever you go. You should not be a bully or one

who tears others apart. Let others benet from the

fact that you lived. May each one of you make the

jungle a better place just like the river.”

The animals danced and celebrated. They were

happy that they had a wise king. There was a smile

on every face, something that had never happened

in Cactapopo Jungle before.

“Finally, let me tell you what I want to do in my

ve years as king. The rst thing I want to do is to

make sure that everyone has enough food. I want

to introduce fruits into the jungle. I want us to grow

fruit trees along the river and lake. I want us to have

all sorts of fruits.”

Dung beetle stood on his ball of dung, raised his

hand and King Rabbit told him to say what was on

his mind.

“I think that this is a lovely idea. In addition to

fruits, I think that we can also eat delicious dung

balls.”

“No way,” interrupted hyena. “This is not

something that we can do.”

“Nobody asked you to talk,” King Rabbit told

hyena. “Everyone has the right to speak their mind.

We may not always agree with the opinions of others,

but we must respectfully listen to them because as

members of the jungle, nobody has all the ideas.”

“I am sorry,” said hyena. “It will not happen

again.”

The snake raised his head indicating that he had

something to say.

“Is what you are about to say constructive?”

asked King Rabbit.”

“Perhaps not,” replied the snake.

“Keep it to yourself for now. We all heard a

suggestion from the dung beetle. I will ask your

views on the food you want us to be eating. By a

show of hands, how many think that fruits are a

good addition to our diet of grass, herbs, twigs and

leaves?”

Almost all the animals raised their hands.

“Now how many think that dung balls might

make a good meal?”

Only one hand went up.

“It seems that dung will not really be a popular

food in the jungle. I thank dung beetle for his

suggestion, but we can probably nd some other

use for all the dung in the jungle. Human beings

pay a lot of money to buy cow dung, goat dung and

chicken dung. Perhaps we can sell them elephant

dung or hyena dung or mixed jungle dung. We

will denitely need some money to buy fruit tree

seedlings. I appoint the dung beetle as my minister

for dung collection and amingo as the minister for

seedlings.”

The animals clapped for the dung beetle and

amingo who waved their hands and apped their

wings at the crowd.

“Apart from food security, the next thing I want

all animals to enjoy is a constant supply of water.

You are all aware that in some seasons when there

is no rain for a long time, some animals have died of

thirst and hunger. You will agree with me that we

need to increase the volume of water in our jungle.”

Monkey raised his hand and was told that he

could speak.

“Do you want to put taps in the jungle? That will

destroy our natural beauty,” said monkey.

“Thank you for your contribution, monkey. I

do not want to put taps but rather to build dams

across the river in several places. Water will only

enter the dams when the river overows its bank.

The dams will trap lots of water to prevent it from

owing into the ocean prematurely. Only when the

jungle has enough reserves of the precious uid,

to last a couple of months or even years, will the

water then nd its way into the ocean. We will all

work together to dig the dams. They will serve as

reservoirs which will also mean that the sh and

water animals will have more room to thrive and

multiply. I appoint the beaver as the minister for

dams and water security.”

The animals clapped for the beaver who smiled

generously and gave a thumbs up sign to the crowd.

“My third project will be the construction of

underground houses for the animals who want

some shelter from the rain, the wind and natural

elements. We will build underground shelters and

line them with clay. Those like warthog and squirrel

who are good at digging will be called upon to assist.

Lion will also need to share his many dens with

other animals. I appoint warthog as the minister

for housing.”

The animals did not clap which made King Rabbit

ask them the reason why they were not clapping.

“Warthog is not very good looking,” said the

peacock while showing off his feathers.

“In the jungle, all animals are beautiful,” said

King Rabbit. “I will not have anyone consider other

animals ugly. Each animal is special in their own

way. Warthog is indeed beautiful in a very special

way. Who made anyone a judge of what beauty

is? You think warthog would look beautiful with a

face and feathers like those of peacock? Do you? In

human country, I see this stupidity all the time. They

even change their body and skin complexion to look

beautiful. Some humans even think that having a

particular skin colour makes one more beautiful or

superior. Who made you a judge of beauty? In our

jungle, what counts is what you have on the inside,

how good natured and respectful you are and how

well you do any duty given to you. True beauty lies

in your service to fellow animals and to the jungle.”

The animals were surprised to see warthog

sobbing and wiping a stream of tears from his eyes.

He raised his hand and King Rabbit allowed him

to speak.

“That is the sweetest thing anyone ever said to

me,” said warthog. “All my life, I was made to feel

ugly by other animals. I was even told that I was

created a little uglier than hyena because I was meant

to be hyena’s food. Leopard once told me that by

eating me, he would be doing me a favour. I feel

so special today and I am so happy to know that

I do not have to let other animals’ opinion of me

dene who I am. I do not want feathers like those

of peacock or a horn like that of rhino or a trunk

like that of elephant or a mane like that of lion or

legs like those of giraffe. I am beautiful, and I will

do the work given to me by my king with complete

dedication. Nobody will ever make me feel inferior!”

King Rabbit clapped and led the other animals

in clapping for warthog for a very long time. Even

leopard clapped and gave warthog a hug.

“I am very sorry for looking down on you, my

brother,” said leopard to warthog. “From today,

you shall be my best friend.”

Elephant raised his trunk and was allowed to

speak.

“Today we have witnessed the greatest event in

the living history of this jungle. As a teacher, I will

teach these great lessons and examples to all our

young animals. It is now clear that the greatness of

a king is measured not by how much they bring fear

but by how much they bring hope, set the captives

free and lift up those who are looked down upon by

others. From now on, the warthog is free, the insect

is free, and the sh is free. I dare even say that the

leopard is free from his bad habits, for every animal

is a slave to their bad habits. Can I hear ‘O Yeah’ if

you agree with me.”

“O Yeah!” shouted the animals in unison.

“Only the lion is bound to his past because he

has chosen to let the love for his own narrow interest

to override the love for the greater welfare of the

jungle. We can hear him groaning from across the

river, but he is reaping what he has been sowing

over the years. We now see how useless he was as

a leader because he never provided guidance or

worked for the greater good of the jungle. I am so

glad because we are moving in the right direction

under the wise leadership of King Rabbit.”

“O yeah!” shouted the animals in unison.

“If you allow me, I will now conclude my speech,”

said King Rabbit as he requested the animals to be

silent. “One of the things I want to establish is a way

to reward those who are hard working. What can

we use to pay those who are hard working?”

“Wheat pellets!” shouted the giraffe after raising

his hand and being asked to speak. “Human beings

bring them to us when they want us to come out

from hiding behind the trees. The pellets are very

tasty and full of many health benets.”

“That is a great idea. How will we get the pellets

in large quantities?” asked the king.

“We can steal from humans,” suggested monkey.

Wasp gave him a big sting on the ear.

“Ouch!” cried out monkey. “Am I not meant to

give my opinion?”

“I have said it over and over again that you must

lift up your hand if you have something to say. It is

bad manners to interrupt the king. Now about your

opinion, stealing is inappropriate behaviour that

we will not entertain in our midst. Shame on you

monkey! If you are trying to be funny, those are not

the types of jokes that make us laugh. And if perhaps

you were seriously expressing your honest opinion,

let me make it crystal clear that I will not allow the

habit or even the act of stealing to prevail under my

watch. Either way, you are morally bankrupt and

unprincipled through and through. Anybody who

wants to be a great leader must keep away from

crime. Your character must be more important to

you than any monetary gain. A thief does not steal

because he lacks money. A thief steals because he

lacks character. One who lacks character is like a tree

without roots. They may look good on the outside

but deep inside, they are very unstable. You cannot

build on them and you cannot depend on them.”

Leopard lifted up his hand and King Rabbit

allowed him to speak.

“I have an idea. Instead of stealing from humans,

we can make them pay a fee for visiting the jungle.

They should pay us for coming into our jungle to

see us. We can ask them to pay us wheat pellets

instead of money.”

“Excellent idea,” said the king. “Leopard shall

be the minister for tourism. You are responsible

for making humans pay for every visit that they

make to the jungle. Ostrich shall be the minister for

distribution of pellets on land, hippopotamus in

the lake and tilapia in the river. You will give each

animal pellets according to how much work they

are doing to improve the jungle. Let the work begin

from tomorrow morning. We should involve our

wives in the work. They too need to be attending all

jungle meetings in future. We need them because

they are a very important part of our lives.”

The animals all smiled and clapped their paws,

wriggled their ns or apped their feathers with

delight.

“One last thing. I know that some animals may

secretly eat sh or insects. I appoint the crocodile

as the minister for security. He will make sure

that no animal eats any sh in the river nor insect

in the eld. If an animal is seen trying to chase or

catch another animal, this must be reported to the

crocodile. Remember that one of our rules is that

anyone seen killing, eating or chasing with the

intention of eating another animal must be put to

death.”

The crocodile opened his mouth wide to expose

his sharp teeth and then snapped it shut making

a loud noise. “Thank you, king,” he said, and the

animals clapped and cheered wildly.

King Rabbit then closed the meeting after

teaching the animals a jungle song and they went

away singing the song.

We love the jungle,

We love each other,

We will protect our land,

Each one is useful

Each one is lovely

Each one deserves respect.

We got to be different x3

Chapter Review Questions

1. What are the qualities of good leadership that

King Rabbit demonstrates?

2. The animals have two rights. What is the

importance of the animal rights?

3. What are the ways in which we can build others

up and not tear each other down?

4. What would you say about how King Rabbit

dealt with dung beetle?

5. Discuss whether King Rabbit loses his authority

by consulting others.

6. Is monkey’s concern about not destroying the

natural beauty justied?

7. How did King Rabbit’s act of making warthog

feel good affect the jungle animals?

8. What wisdom can we learn from elephant about

habits?

Chapter 4

In the weeks and months that followed the

appointment of several animals as ministers, work in

the jungle went on without a hitch. The Honourable

Dung Beetle worked well with his team to make

sure that every day, the animals collected enough

dung to be exchanged with a hundred fruit tree

seedlings. Honourable Flamingo made sure that there

were enough birds each day to help in carrying the

seedlings. Monkey, squirrel and gorilla were very

helpful in planting the seedlings along the river-bed.

They were able to plant seedlings for apple trees,

avocado trees, orange trees, mango trees, guava

trees, pawpaw trees, plum trees, banana tubers and

lots of other trees.

Honourable Leopard made sure that humans

paid for their jungle visits in wheat pellets. More

than ten thousand packets of wheat pellets were

collected each day from the human visits. The pellets

were distributed to all the jungle animals according

to how much each animal worked but some were

stored in lion’s den and were guarded by porcupine

and skunk.

Honourable Beaver used his building skills to

help direct the construction of two dams in one

month.

Honourable Warthog helped in leading his team

in the digging of ten houses every two days. The

animals would dig holes on one day and plaster

the holes with clay the following day. There was

so much activity in the jungle that the animals

never realised how time ew. King Rabbit and

his security team visited different sections of the

jungle from time to time, to supervise the work and

encourage the animals. Sometimes the king helped

in the distribution of pellets or in the collection of

dung. The animals worked enthusiastically with all

their strength. On some days, they extended their

work to the human country and after consulting

with members of the neighbourhood, they helped

clear grass and weeds and to trim some fences that

looked untidy.

Five weeks after the work had begun, old lion

went around the jungle trying to discourage animals

from working. It appeared that he had not fully

recovered from the wounds that he received when

giraffe had kicked him. He wobbled around with

an evident limp.

“Why are you working so hard and yet you will

all die and leave everything behind?” he asked.

“You have no idea how much I miss meat.”

Most of the animals ignored him.

He however managed to convince hyena that

life was much better in the past.

“Now all you eat is vegetables and wheat pellets

like a rabbit,” said lion to hyena. “And yet your jaws

were created to crush bones and tear meat. I am sure

you miss meat.”

“Terribly,” admitted hyena. “You have no idea

how much I miss meat.”

“Then let us chase rabbit out of our jungle, let us

overthrow that little animal” advised lion.

“But how?” asked hyena.

“We can begin to make lots of terrible noises

especially at night. Rabbit will not sleep.”

That night, lion and hyena made so much noise

that most of the animals did not sleep. The noise

reminded them of the dark days when eating other

animals went on in the jungle. King Rabbit could

not sleep even though he was heavily guarded by

his security team. During the day, the king called

his security team and ministers to a meeting. They

decided that such noise was a big disturbance to

the peace in the jungle. It was not to be tolerated.

Many animals were not able to work well that

day. They were very sleepy. King Rabbit commanded

elephant to blow the trumpet to call the animals for

a meeting. They all gathered by the river, and it was

clear that most of them were in fear. Lion and hyena

did not attend the meeting. King Rabbit sent lady

buttery secretly to go and nd out what lion and

hyena were up to.

“I have called you here to tell you about a decision

that I have made after consulting with my ministers

and my security team. You all know that lion and

hyena made terrible noises all through the night.

Most of you could not sleep. I did not sleep. I have

no idea why the two decided to make the noise, but

we have resolved that such noise is not going to be

entertained. The two animals responsible for the

noise have decided not to come for our meeting.

Although we have a lot of freedom in the jungle,

some animals are using the freedom to steal our

peace. Much as we need to guard our freedom

jealously, we must not give some animals freedom

to make our lives miserable.”

The animals clapped for the king. Gorilla raised

his hand and was allowed to speak.

“The lion has been going around the jungle

like a virus, trying to infect us with a rebellious

attitude,” he began. “He has been discouraging us

from working, but we have not paid attention to his

empty words. However, we have noticed that hyena

has been listening to him in the past few days and

they have teamed up to undermine your authority,

O king. This can only mean danger to the rest of the

jungle. Just give me permission and I will tear lion

into two with my bare hands.”

“Thank you for the information,” said King

Rabbit. “I wish you had told me about lion’s

behaviour earlier. We now have a problem in our

hands. We have made a law that it is wrong to kill

another animal. The life of any animal is precious.

The only time an animal can be killed is if he or she

kills another animal. We cannot kill lion, but we

have to stop him from executing his evil plan. He

already has hyena on his side and soon, he might

convince other animals to join him. This will divide

the jungle. A divided jungle cannot stand. Our

strength is in our unity.”

Just then, lady buttery arrived looking very

worried. She requested to be allowed to speak and

King Rabbit gave her the permission.

“You will not believe what lion and hyena are

planning to do,” she began. “I ew to where they

were and hid myself in the bushes. They were talking

of how they would continue making their noise

every night. They said that they were planning to

convince jackal, vulture, snake, leopard, marabou

stork and kingsher to join them. When many of

the former carnivores crossed over to their side,

they would attack at night and kill all the animals

guarding the king. They would then eat King Rabbit

and hang his head on a tree for all animals to see.

Lion would then be made king.”

When buttery had nished giving her report,

all the animals went quiet with fear. Tortoise raised

his hand and was allowed to speak.

“This is a very sad day for the jungle. We have

enjoyed much peace and unity under King Rabbit.

We cannot go back to our past. We cannot allow the

greed of a few animals to destroy the little progress

that we are making and the freedom we are enjoying.

Our very lives are at risk because of the plans that

lion and hyena are making. They cannot be allowed

to live in our jungle. One thing I have learnt from

all this is that bad leadership can only continue if

self-interest is placed before jungle interest. Those

who love our jungle must ght for the future of our

young ones. We need a new law that punishes lion’s

behaviour with death.”

“This is a very serious crime,” agreed King

Rabbit. “But will killing lion teach him a lesson?”

“Lion must die!” cried lady tilapia, unable to

hide her emotions. “Sorry I tried to raise my n,

but nobody noticed. “Lion is so cruel that he even

kills his own little cubs. We must kill him. We must

destroy his den and all his property.”

“I can see that you are all very angry,” continued

King Rabbit. “This is good because it shows that you

love the jungle. You cannot let such a bad animal live

in our jungle. I commend your sense of patriotism.

But remember that lion has a wife and little cubs.

They need him.”

“I am here,” said lioness as she stepped forward

from the crowd. “I do not like what lion is doing

and the little cubs do not like it too. He told me not

to attend the meeting, but I disobeyed him. Maybe

we can warn him. Perhaps we can call him.”

King Rabbit then requested eagle, lady eagle and

gorilla to go and call lion and hyena. They were to

use force if necessary.

As the other animals waited, eagle and his wife

transported gorilla who held on to the branch of a

tree which the eagles carried in their strong talons.

When they got to where lion and hyena were,

gorilla dropped off from the branch.

“You must be aware that there is a jungle meeting,

you lthy beasts,” said gorilla to the two animals.

“Can you drag your dirty bodies to the meeting

venue before I damage your ugly faces.”

Lion gave a roar that shook the jungle. Gorilla

then beat his chest so loudly that lion was shocked.

“I see you have some little strength on that hairy

chest, but you will have to ght me and my friend

hyena,” said lion.

The two eagles swooped down and scratched

the eyes of lion and hyena. Gorilla then grabbed lion

and gave him a sound beating with a stick. Hyena

tried to run away but the eagles ew down and tore

off bits of esh from his back.

“We will come for the meeting,” cried the lion.

“Is this the way to treat your king?”

“We have one king and it is not you,” said gorilla

and gave lion a painful slap on the face. “From now

on you are under arrest you beasts! March on ahead

of us. We will ride on your backs.”

Lion carried gorilla and the eagles were carried

by hyena. It took them one hour to get to the river

where the rest of the animals were waiting. They

laughed and cheered when they saw old lion limping

painfully with gorilla on his back. Only the lioness

and lady hyena appeared sad.

“Why did you not come for the meeting?” asked

King Rabbit. “Did you hear the trumpet?”

“I did not hear the trumpet,” answered hyena

rudely.

The elephant swung his trunk, lifted hyena and

tossed him high into the air. He crushed down with

a loud bang and broke all his legs.

“You must address the king with some respect,”

trumpeted elephant.

Hyena then began to cry uncontrollably. “Please

forgive me. I have been listening to lion. He has

made me to hate the new system. Please do not kill

me. I have made a big mistake. I heard the trumpet,

but I never came to the meeting. I am so sorry, King

Rabbit.”

“Your lack of character and your greed made

you a very easy target of lion’s evil plans,” said King

Rabbit to hyena. “How about you, old lion? What

do you have to say?”

The lion looked at all the animals surrounding

him then tried to jump at King Rabbit, but buffalo

acted fast. He caught lion in his horns and tossed

him high into the air. He landed on a tree and was

trapped between its branches.

“Please help me,” groaned the lion.

“You are such a loser,” said King Rabbit. “We

hope that you will continue with your roar tonight.

You will remain trapped in the tree for a full week.

As for hyena, we hope that you have learnt your

lesson. You need to work on your character. A

good character is better than meat or wheat pellets.

Remember the lesson I gave you about the river? A

river’s usefulness depends on sticking to its path.

You have strayed from your path and become a

danger to yourself and to others. I am sure that you

will be more careful to have better friends in future.

Hopefully, you can return to your house when your

legs heal.”

That night, the animals slept soundly. Except

for the groans of lion and hyena, the jungle was

very quiet.

Work in the jungle continued under the guidance

of King Rabbit and his ministers. Three years after

taking over leadership, King Rabbit had achieved

most of his goals. All animals that needed a house

were now living in a house. Ten dams had been built

across the river while the fruit trees had begun to

bear fruits. The humans continued to bring wheat

pellets to the jungle under leopard’s supervision.

Hyena’s legs never healed fully, and he had to limp

for the rest of his life. Lion died in his sleep on the

fourth year of King Rabbit’s rule.

The animals held a funeral in his honour. In his

last few years, he had nally accepted the will of the

animals in choosing a new king. He had given King

Rabbit a few hairs from his mane and three of his

claws. King Rabbit attended the funeral and praised

the former king of the jungle for his courage.

“Lion may have had many weaknesses, but we

must celebrate his strengths and contributions too.

He had the heart of a warrior. We must all be as

bold as lion when it comes to defending the jungle.

There is a lion in each one of us. We all have a big

idea that pushes itself out of us with a roar. Always

listen to the roar of ideas within you and never let

the jungle silence you.”

“I am sorry to interrupt you, King Rabbit; can I

roar my idea?” asked the Honourable Dung Beetle.

“Please go, ahead honourable minister,”

encouraged King Rabbit.

“I know that this is not the right time to speak

about my idea, but I heard your words and felt as if

you were talking to me. I have been thinking about

how my ministry can be improved. I do not like

the idea of animals collecting dung. Giving me the

position of minister made me realise that all my life, I

had been a self-centered dung collector, when I could

have been a visionary leader. I then discovered that

as a leader, I can help free animals from the duty of

collecting the dung that was to be exchanged with

seedlings from humans. If every animal can drop

their fresh dung in a selected area, then humans can

go to that area and collect it. We do not need to be

collecting dung any more. Let us drop it all in one

place and let the humans come for it. Animals can

then have more time to come up with better ideas

to improve the jungle.”

“That is a great roaring idea,” said King Rabbit

happily. “From now on, I will call you the Honourable

Roaring Beetle. I am so proud of you, my minister.

You are no longer the minister for dung collection

but rather the minister for ideas and jungle progress.

As I was saying earlier, your roar might scare the

cowards and those without ideas like yours but roar

all the more. Your roar might make those around

you uncomfortable but roar all the same. Roar until

the world knows that here lived a great king. Do

not be intimidated by the looks of the crowd or by

what they will say or think about you. It does not lie

within your powers to control what others think or

say about you behind your back, because whether

you fail or succeed, they will think and talk about

you nonetheless. Do not be afraid to roar. Express

the roar of greatness trapped within you. Lion knew

how to roar like no other animal could. His style of

leadership served the jungle well in the past. But he

failed to prepare for the future. We must never get

too comfortable with our present circumstances that

we forget to make plans for our future. Like a river,

life comes in many stages and seasons. We must be

ready to step into our new seasons by letting go of

past achievements. Thank you very much my fellow

animals.”

Chapter Review Questions

1. What attributes or values did the animals

demonstrate as they built their jungle?

2. Why was it easy for lion to convince hyena to

join him in the plot to overthrow King Rabbit?

3. Perhaps tortoise had a better sense of justice than

gorilla and tilapia. Why is this?

4. Do you think that gorilla exercised any self-control

in how he dealt with lion?

5. What in the passage suggests that lion is unable

to accept reality? Is this a good thing for a leader?

6. If you were King Rabbit, would you have

subscribed to the general feeling of the animals

that lion ought to be put to death? Explain.

Chapter 5

In the two years that followed the death of old

lion, Cactapopo Jungle witnessed a time of progress

never seen before. The fruit trees that had been

planted along the river bank grew and began to

produce a wide variety of fruits. Animals were

now able to eat avocados, apples, bananas, oranges,

plums, pawpaws, guavas, mangoes and many other

fruits. It was a time of much feasting and celebration.

The production of food was so abundant that

the animals donated two lorry loads of fruits to

ve children’s homes and two hospitals in human

country. The wild goose was given the task of

identifying the nearby children’s homes and hospitals

that needed nancial help. Some of the fruits were

sold in the market through the help of the men

who bought dung from the animals, and the money

donated to the children’s homes and hospitals.

The animals worked less because most of the

work had been done. Except for the sh and birds,

each animal lived in an underground house, cave

or den. Ten dams had been constructed which

ensured that the animals had a constant supply

of water all the year round. The animals did not

have to collect dung anymore because two areas

had been set aside where each animal would drop

their fresh dung. Humans came each day with

lorries carrying wheat pellets after which they would

tour the jungle. The animals enjoyed a season of

feasting and relaxation as they had never done

before. When humans attempted to cut down trees

in the jungle, some animals tried to stop them. The

humans claimed that the trees were not part of the

animal jungle and threatened to kill any animal

who tried to stop them. Honourable Leopard, the

minister for tourism, reported this to King Rabbit.

The king called his ministers and security team for

an emergency meeting. They discussed the matter

and most of the ministers felt that the animals should

warn the humans against cutting down trees. They

also resolved to assign duties to some animals who

would guard the forest and attack the humans who

disobeyed the warning.

“Now that we do not need to plant more fruit tree

seedlings, why don’t we start planting a fence around

the jungle,” suggested the Honourable Roaring

Beetle. “The fence will mark our territory so that

no one will have an excuse to cut down our trees.”

“That is an excellent idea,” agreed King Rabbit.

“The humans are taking advantage of the fact that

there are no clear boundaries in our jungle. We need

a good fence.”

“But we also need a strong security team,”

suggested Honourable Crocodile, the minister for

security. “These humans have guns and they seem

ready to shoot us if we stop them from cutting down

trees.”

The ministers agreed that the humans needed to

be stopped from cutting down trees immediately.

They also agreed on constructing a fence around

the jungle.

“How will we stop the humans from cutting

down trees?” asked Honourable Flamingo, the

minister for seedlings.

“I can stop them,” said rhino who was a member

of the security team.

“I do not think so,” said Honourable Leopard,

the minister for tourism. “They will kill you with

their guns because you are too big to miss.”

“I think that Honourable Leopard is very right,”

agreed Honourable Warthog, the minister for

housing. Maybe I have a better idea.”

“Your ideas are very welcome, Honourable

Warthog,” said King Rabbit. “Good ideas are the

solutions to the problems that face us.”

“I think that we can form an army of bees and

wasps who can attack the humans and stop them

from treating us with disrespect. We deserve to be

respected. Humans may shoot the rhino with guns,

but they cannot be able to shoot the bee or the wasp.

Being small can be an advantage at times.”

There was thunderous clapping from the king

and the ministers.

“That is an excellent idea,” said King Rabbit. “I

call on Honourable Crocodile assisted by the wasps

in my security team to inform all the bees and wasps

about our mission.”

That afternoon, the bees and wasps attacked the

humans who were cutting down trees and chased

them out of the jungle. The humans left their guns,

lorries and power saws behind.

Lady buttery then approached King Rabbit and

expressed her fear that the humans would return for

their lorries, guns and power saws. She predicted

that this time the humans might be more armed. King

Rabbit requested lady buttery and the weaver bird

to go and nd out what the humans were planning

to do. They returned after two hours and reported

that the humans were planning to come with three

more lorries full of men armed with guns and bee

protection equipment.

King Rabbit then informed the security team and

the ministers about the plan by the humans. “We

need ideas on what to do,” he pleaded.

“I have an idea,” said the Honourable Roaring

Beetle. “We must catch the humans by surprise. Let

us not let them drive their lorries into the jungle. If

possible, let us block the road using trees and rocks.

This will force them to come out of their lorries. It

will be easier to deal with them.”

“Very good idea,” said King Rabbit. He then

told elephant and lady elephant to cut down trees

and block the road.

“I have another idea,” said the rhino. “We can

give the guns that humans left to the monkeys,

gorillas and baboons. I am sure that they can learn

how to shoot in a few minutes. They can hide in the

bushes and shoot the humans.”

“This might lead to the death of a few of them,”

said King Rabbit. “I do not support the killing of the

humans. I love your idea, but life is very precious.

In our world today, it is easier to destroy than to

build but when it comes to life, it is impossible to

bring back to life what has been killed.”

“I have an idea,” said the buffalo. “Why can’t we

all hide in the bushes and then charge at the humans

when they appear. I am sure that we can overcome

them if we catch them by surprise.”

“Not everyone has a big body,” said the wasp.

“We cannot all charge at humans. I think that the

method we used last time is the best. Bees and wasps

are the best attackers. We only need to remove the

protective clothes from the humans.”

“That’s a great idea,” said King Rabbit. “I think

that bats will be able to bite off the nets that humans

will be wearing on their faces. Once the nets are off,

the bees and wasps can do their work.”

The animals agreed that this was a great idea.

The bats, wasps and bees were called and given

instructions.

After a short while, three lorries were seen

approaching in the distance. The animals with wings

or who could climb trees hid in the trees while those

without wings hid behind the trees.

When the lorries got to the place where the

elephants had blocked the road with rocks and logs,

one man who seemed to be the leader came out of

one of the lorries and was joined by another.

“The animals think that they can stop us with

this small road block,” said the leader.

“This is a small problem Captain Califogy. We

can walk and leave a few men to remove the road

block.”

Captain Califogy then divided his men into two

groups and ordered some to march into the jungle

while the others would be left to remove the rocks

and logs from the road.

The men left their lorries and started walking

into the jungle, carrying power saws and armed with

guns. When they came to the area where the animals

were hiding, the bats suddenly fell on them from the

trees. They tore away the protective clothing forcing

the men to drop their guns in fear as they struggled

to ght off the bats unsuccessfully.

When the bats had nished tearing big holes into

the men’s protective head nets, they ew away, and

signaled to the bees and wasps that all was clear.

The armed insects descended on the unprotected

men and stung them mercilessly. They ran away

screaming like scared puppies, leaving their guns and

power saws behind. The bees and wasps followed

them all the way to the lorries, inicting pain and

teaching them a lesson they would live to remember.

The insects stepped up their assault when they got

to the men who were trying to unblock the roads.

Captain Califogy ordered the men to get into the

lorries, but they could not get past the swarm of

determined bees that blocked the path to the lorries.

He was stung severally by the bees and wasps when

he tried to climb into one of the lorries, forcing him

to run for his dear life. The bruised men ran on foot

and left the lorries behind.

The animals clapped and cheered wildly. They

collected the guns left by the men and kept them

in one of the caves. The Honourable Beaver bit into

the lorry tires and attened them. The animals sang

the jungle song and ate fruits to celebrate.

They ran away screaming like scared puppies,...

Soon thereafter, King Rabbit made cheetah the

minister for fence construction. Honourable Cheetah

was asked to arrange with Honourable Flamingo

on how to obtain thorn tree seedlings that would

be planted all around the jungle.

Due to the good conditions in the jungle, so many

young animals were born. The jungle population

more than doubled in ve years. One day, King

Rabbit called the animals to a meeting by the river.

“I have called you here to tell you that I have

completed my ve years of service to the jungle.”

Lady Zebra raised her hand up and was allowed

to talk.

“Please continue being king for ve more years,”

she said. “We have enjoyed our time and have

experienced a lot of progress. I am sure that this is

the feeling of all the animals.”

“O yeah,” shouted the animals in unison.

“Thank you for your faith in me. However, I

must let somebody else to take up my position. I

have accomplished my plans for the jungle. Besides,

I must obey the law. Our laws state that an animal

can only be king for a ve-year term after which an

election must be held.”

Some animals began to cry and wail loudly.

“I know that we will get a new king who will help

our jungle experience even more progress. Thank

you very much for allowing me to lead you for the

past ve years. I have enjoyed watching all of you

working together to make our jungle a better place.

May this unity always prevail. May we all selessly

work for the good of the jungle and not for our own

selsh interests. For now, I want us to embark on

the process of electing our next king.”

“Who do you want us to select as king?” asked

Honourable Hippo as he wiped a tear.

“I cannot give an opinion,” said King Rabbit.

“That is for you to decide, but please choose wisely.

A bad leader can undo the progress and the good

things that we have enjoyed. Choose a leader who

has a compelling vision and great plans for the

jungle.”

Two of lion’s cubs were now big and one was

interested in being king. The roaring beetle also

wanted to be king. Apart from the lion and the

roaring beetle no other animal wanted to be king.

They were given one week to go and convince other

animals on why they should be elected king.

The roaring beetle travelled across the jungle

and told the animals that he would rule through big

ideas. He promised to give more pellets to animals

that would come up with great ideas to improve life

in the jungle. He said that he would continue to rule

the way King Rabbit had ruled. The lion went to

the animals and convinced them that they needed a

king who was bold and good looking. He told them

that dung beetle was not big enough to be a king.

“How can you call dung beetle a roaring beetle?

The only roaring animal is me.”

He gave his pellets to the crow who went around

telling the animals how good lion was. The crow

told the animals that the beetle had a very bad past.

“Beetle used to eat my dung,” said the crow.

“Can you imagine being ruled by a dung eater?

All the humans will come and laugh at us if dung

beetle is our king. Let us vote for a leader who looks

like a king.”

On the day of the election, the animals turned

out in big numbers to vote for their king. The lion

received ten thousand nine hundred and fty votes

(10,950) while the beetle received ten thousand nine

hundred and forty eight votes (10,948).

Elephant blew the trumpet and the animals

gathered at the river. The head of the election team

was the giraffe.

“We have a new king,” said the giraffe. “Lion

won more votes than roaring beetle.”

There was some cheering and clapping especially

from the hyena and jackal. Giraffe then called the

outgoing king to invite the new one.

“I am lled with much happiness today,” said

King Rabbit. “Ever since I came to Cactapopo Jungle,

I was received very warmly and have been given

a lot of cooperation by you all. Please give the new

king the cooperation you gave me. I came to this

jungle with big goals and plans. I am proud of the

work that we have done together to achieve these

goals. The jungle is a better place than I found it. I

have kept my word of bringing the changes that I

promised. Let us be animals that always keep our

word. I will be going back to human country because

that is where I left my family. All I require of you my

fellow animals, is that you remain united and work

diligently to improve life in the jungle. I urge the

new king to listen to the animals. They will readily

follow you if they know that you have their best

interests at heart, but they will reject you once you

begin to act in a way that is selsh. I now want to

invite King Lion to talk to us.”

King Lion gave a roar that shook the jungle. “I

am happy that you have restored the kingdom back

to where it belongs,” he began. “I don’t have much

to say. I will begin by appointing my ministers.

Those who will help me in managing the jungle are

hyena, jackal, crow, snake, chameleon, cheetah and

the lioness who is my twin sister. My rst plan is to

build an electric fence around the jungle. We must

protect ourselves from the greedy humans who want

to cut down our trees.”

Some animals clapped their paws happy that

King Lion had a plan.

“For now, you can all go home. Crow will be the

minister for information. He will be telling you the

rest of my plans whenever I send him to tell you.”

“I have a question,” said baboon as he raised

his hand.

“Give your question to Honourable Hyena,” said

King Lion. “He is the minister in charge of questions

and complaints.”

King Lion gave a roar that shook the jungle. “Go

to your homes!” he ordered.

The animals obediently left and went away with

many questions in their minds. King Lion went to

his den and told crow that apart from the ministers,

no animal could come near the den.

However, the snail who was not at the meeting

decided to go to King Lion’s den to wish him well.

The crow and the hyena stopped snail from coming

close to the king.

“Get your ugly body out of this area before I

crush you with my beak,” commanded the crow.

“If you have anything to say, Honourable Hyena

will tell it to the great king on your behalf.”

“I just wanted to wish the king well,” cried the

snail.

“Hahaha hahahaa,” laughed hyena. “You think

his royal highness the great king has time for such

nonsense? Get out of here before I turn your soft

slimy body into a pancake.”

The snail turned back and went away crying.

Chapter Review Questions

1. By donating food to the less fortunate, what value

are the animals demonstrating?

2. Why do you think that the animals were very

opposed to the cutting down of trees?

3. According to the chapter, was King Rabbit’s a

successful leader?

4. What are ve benets that the animals enjoyed

because of King Rabbit’s visionary leadership?

5. How would you describe Honourable Rhino and

his ideas?

6. Was the king wrong in implementing Honourable

Warthog’s ideas and not those of Honourable

Rhino?

7. Was King Rabbit justied in turning down the

request that he be made king for another 5 years?

8. King Rabbit refuses to endorse anyone as the

next king. Do you think that this is right?

9. How would you describe King Lion’s new

government?

Chapter 6

After King Lion had sent the animals home,

rabbit waited until it was dark. He then stole away

quietly and left the jungle, as the animals slept. In

the morning, many animals cried when they realised

that rabbit had left them. When crow reported this

to King Lion, the king ordered that if an animal

was caught crying, he or she would be punished by

Honourable Snake. Honourable Snake was made

the minister for punishment.

Many of the animals were very sad that the new

king did not seem to care about them. He refused

to meet them and delegated the responsibility

to Honourable Hyena the minister in charge of

questions and complaints. Any animal with a

problem, complaint or a solution to a problem

was free to inform the minister during working

hours. Honourable Hyena adopted the habit of

laughing loudly when listening to the animals who

came to him with their issues. After one week, the

minister said that he was tired of listening to trivial

complaints. He told the animals that anyone with a

complaint must write it on the leaves of an Aloe vera

plant using a thorn from an acacia tree. Honourable

Hyena would read the writing on the leaves once

a week.

Honourable Cheetah was not happy about how

things had changed in the jungle. He went to the king

and told him that he did not wish to be a minister

any more. The king called him a fool and told him to

go and drown himself in the lake. Cheetah walked

away feeling bitter, but he did not say a word. One

month after being made king, lion sent Honourable

Crow to announce to the animals that humans would

be allowed to construct an electric fence around the

jungle in exchange for permission to cut down trees.

The roaring beetle told the crow to tell King Lion

that an electric fence was not necessary because the

animals were capable of planting a fence around the

jungle. When Honourable Crow reported this to King

Lion, the king told the minister to inform beetle that

his opinion stunk like a ball of fresh skunk dung

and was therefore not worth implementing. One

week after the announcement that humans would be

allowed to build an electric fence around the jungle,

the animals were surprised to see humans in the

jungle. The men came with their lorries, guns and

power saws. They also carried some boxes which

were taken to King Lion’s den.

Lady buttery was able to hide under the boxes

and managed to sneak into King Lion’s den. To her

horror, buttery saw the humans opening the boxes

and removing what looked like meat. When the

humans left, King Lion was the rst to eat the meat

followed by Honourable Lioness and then the other

ministers. Honourable Hyena made sure that there

was no bone or hide that was left. There was also

a packet of sausages which were strictly meant for

the king. The king ate them as a dessert.

Buttery reported this to the roaring beetle who

decided to investigate if the report was true. The

following day, beetle, ladybird and lady buttery

secretly hid near King Lion’s den and waited to see

what the king and his ministers did all day.

The three spies listened as the Honourable Hyena

told the king that all the animals were very happy

that the vegetable chewing rabbit had nally left.

King Lion smiled and said that he wondered if

the elephant was also happy.

“The elephant eats fruits all day,” hissed

Honourable Snake. “He is very happy that under

your wise leadership my king, he is able to have

enough fruits to ll his big stomach. We have never

had a king like you, your majesty the great King Lion.

Your greatness and fame have given all the animals

sufcient reason to rejoice and nd contentment in

meditating on your great benevolence. Your roar

and strength are a major source of comfort and

tranquility in our great jungle my king.”

They were still talking, when humans came with

a huge gold-plated den and two big boxes. The gold-

plated den was lined with soft materials on the inside

and there was even a mattress and a pillow to make

the king comfortable. King Lion smiled generously

and thanked the humans for being so considerate.

The humans promised to make smaller silver cages

for the rest of the ministers. When the humans left,

the king and his ministers opened the boxes and

removed meat and sausages. The king was rst to

eat followed by the Honourable Lioness and then the

other ministers just as the buttery had reported. The

roaring beetle, ladybird and lady buttery then left

their hiding place and ew to where elephant was.

“You will not believe what the king and his

ministers do,” said lady bird to elephant.

“Please tell me,” requested the elephant.

“They eat meat brought to them by humans three

times a day. The king even eats sausages. He will

start living in a den made from gold. It was brought

to him by the humans along with a mattress and

pillow.”

“That’s enough!” said elephant angrily and

blew a trumpet.

The crow ew to where elephant was and asked

him what his problem was.

“It’s none of your business,” replied elephant.

“Leave before I knock your silly head off!”

The elephant was so angry that, the jungle

animals felt the ground shaking. The crow ew

and informed King Lion that elephant had behaved

in a way that threatened the security of the jungle.

“You will not believe O king what the elephant

has said,” reported the crow.

“What did that big useless animal say?” asked

King Lion as he chewed on a string of sausages.

“He said that he would kill you and all the

ministers.”

“What!” exclaimed King Lion. “That monster

must be put to death. Go and call captain Califogy.

We cannot have such a monster in our jungle.”

The crow ew away to call Captain Califogy.

Unknown to them, lady buttery and ladybird

were hiding behind a tree eavesdropping on the

entire conversation. Soon after, lady buttery ew

to elephant and found him having a meeting with

roaring beetle, buffalo, baboon, cheetah, warthog

and leopard.

“I have bad news for you,” said lady buttery.

“The crow has been sent by King Lion to call someone

to come and kill elephant.”

“I saw that coming,” said elephant. “I will not

allow these selsh leaders to continue their loathsome

habits. Already, the humans have cut more than ten

thousand trees in our jungle. The electric fence is yet

to be constructed. Now the king and his ministers

are eating meat brought to them by humans. Very

soon, the humans will be killing us to get our meat

and valuable body parts.”

“Our laws state that we should have an election

after every ve years,” said baboon. “I think that we

must come up with a law that allows us to remove

and replace an ineffective king through a vote. We

have no condence in these new leaders.”

“I agree,” said leopard. “All the animals are very

unhappy. We do not get wheat pellets any more.

Furthermore, the leaders have no plan except to

gratify their bodily appetites.”

“Life was better when King Rabbit was our king,”

said warthog.

Just then, they heard the sound of an approaching

car.

“Quick. Let us hide behind the bushes,” said the

roaring beetle. “We can then see what the humans

are up to.”

Unknown to them, the crow was in the car. When

the car got to where the animals had been, it stopped.

The crow ew out and went searching for elephant.

Elephant who was hiding behind a bush along with

his friends realised that the crow would spot him

easily. It was difcult to hide such a big body.

“We have only one solution,” whispered the

warthog. “Let baboon run towards the car and snatch

the gun from the humans.”

“I will do it myself,” trumpeted the elephant. “I

will not sit down and watch while the progress we

have made in the last ve years is reduced and our

freedom stolen by selsh leaders. Enough of this

nonsense! Let me get those invaders!”

Elephant then ran out of his hiding place and

charged at the humans in the car. This caught them

by surprise. Captain Califogy climbed out of the

car, rie in hand. Elephant increased his speed and

got to him before he could re a bullet. The captain

was thrown into the air sending his rie and four

teeth ying into the bushes. Seeing this, the driver

reversed the car into the bushes, quickly picked the

shaken captain and sped off. The crow who had seen

all this happen ew to inform King Lion.

When King Lion heard what the elephant had

done, he called his ministers to a meeting.

“I want us to discuss how to kill the elephant,”

said King Lion. “Now that Captain Califogy has

failed to do so, we need another plan.”

“I have an idea,” said chameleon.

“It had better be good,” said King Lion.

“Why can’t we give monkey a gun and ask him to

shoot the big animal at night. I am sure that monkey

knows how to use a gun. I once gave him some meat

secretly, so he is likely to do the job if we pay him.”

“Good idea,” said King Lion. “Can the crow go

and call monkey at once.”

When monkey arrived, King Lion questioned

him.

“I have heard that chameleon gave you meat

and you ate it greedily. Is that true?”

“Yes, but….”

“Good. Did you enjoy it?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Do you want some more?”

“Eh eh, not sure my king.” The monkey was

terried. He did not know whether eating the meat

was a crime or not.

“We want to give you some meat,” said King

Lion. “But only if you will do us a small favour.”

“I will do anything for the king,” said monkey

happily.

“We want you to help us get rid of an enemy

who is trying to bring problems to this jungle.”

“You want me to kill?” asked monkey fearfully.

“Is that not against the rules?”

“Rules have changed,” said chameleon. “The

only rule we have is to obey the king. Didn’t you

eat meat and it is against the rules.”

The monkey looked at all the animals around him

and trembled with fear. Chameleon had promised

not to tell any animal about the meat eating incident.

“Will you help us?” asked King Lion. “I will

appoint you a minister and you can have all the

meat you want.”

“Yes, I will,” said monkey.

“Good. We want you to take a gun and shoot

elephant in the night.”

“But I have never used a gun,” said monkey.

“I will ask someone to teach you.”

Ladybird who had listened to the whole

conversation ew to elephant and informed him

about the new development.

“Let us wait to hear about the news about

monkey’s appointment from the crow,” said elephant

calmly. “We will then act in a way that will bring

this madness to a screeching halt.”

As they were talking, the crow called all the

animals together and told them that he had a very

important announcement. When the animals had

gathered at the river, the crow told them that monkey

was now the minister for trees and the environment.

Unknown to him, the elephant had told the eagle

to arrest the crow once he had made the important

announcement.

Without warning, eagle ew down from a tree

and caught crow by the wings and beak.

The crow tried to shout but eagle’s grip was very

rm. The animals clapped but many were in fear.

“Dear animals,” said elephant. “We all saw how

well King Rabbit ruled us with wisdom and how he

set up rules to help us live well. Now there is a rule

that no animal should eat or kill another animal. Do

you all agree?”

“Yes,” whispered the animals.

“I see that you are all in fear. Shake yourselves

from this fear. This is our jungle! This is our

jungle!” trumpeted the elephant. “Let baboon tell

us something.”

The animals clapped for the baboon. They were

beginning to feel encouraged.

“We need to have a new rule,” said the baboon.

“Although our rules say that a king should rule for

ve years, we need another rule that says that if the

animals are not happy about how a king rules, they

can remove such a king through a vote.”

“I agree,” shouted the buffalo. “We need another

king.”

“I agree,” said the parrot. “We need another

king.”

“First things rst,” said the baboon. “Since I am

the one who writes the rules, do we all agree that we

need to have a new rule that allows us to remove a

bad king from power?”

“Yes!” shouted the animals in unison.

“Let me see by a show of paws or wings.”

The animals lifted their paws and birds apped

their wings to show that they agreed. Baboon then

wrote down the rule.

“Do we also agree that we can remove a bad

king when more than half the animals in the jungle

agree to remove such a king?”

Once more the animals lifted their paws and

birds apped their wings to show that they agreed.

Baboon then wrote down the new rule.

“Let the ladybird tell us something,” said the

elephant.

After the ladybird had told the animals all that

King Lion and his ministers had been doing in secret

and the reason monkey was made a minister, the

animals were shocked beyond words.

Buttery conrmed that what the ladybird had

said was true.

“We need a new king!” shouted the animals in

unison.

Baboon then asked the animals who did not want

King Lion to continue being the king to lift up their

paws or wings. All the animals did so.

“We now need a new rule to guide us on who

becomes the new king once a bad king is rejected.”

The animals agreed that the animal that took the

second position during the previous voting period

would be made king once a bad king was rejected.

This was added to the list of new laws.

“We have a new king!” proclaimed the giraffe.

“King Beetle has replaced lion in accordance with

our constitution and is now our king! We call him

King Roaring Beetle because of his roaring ideas!”

The elephant blew a trumpet and the animals

danced and celebrated.

“Let the crow go,” said King Beetle to the eagle.

“Let him go and tell lion that he is no longer the

king. The animals have made new laws and they

have gone ahead and demoted lion from his position

of authority. We will continue to build our jungle

because we cannot expect the hyena and the lion to

bring meaningful reformation.”

The crow ew painfully to the lion’s den. Lion

and the animals around him were beginning to get

worried when they heard the noise that the animals

were making.

“You will not believe what the animals have

done,” said the crow. He then told the lion and

former ministers how the animals had established

new laws that had been used to dethrone king Lion.

“I’m afraid that you are not the king anymore,”

concluded the crow.

Lion then gave a roar and was joined by lioness.

However, the animals continued to shout and

celebrate. The feeling of freedom made them unafraid

of the roar of the lion.

“Do not fear lion or the greedy animals around

him,” advised the new king. “Fear is an enemy of

progress. Fear puts us in chains. Fear makes the

heart grow cold, causing it to die a slow and silent

death. But courage and determination are like a re

that lights the heart. We shall not be afraid of the

roar of the lion because we have the roar of courage

within us. We are united, and we have one thing

in mind – to make our jungle a place of fruitfulness

once more. A place we can be proud to call home.

And we will stand together to make sure that no

animal will steal from us the freedom that we once

enjoyed.”

King Beetle’s speech was greeted with thunderous

applause and prolonged clapping. In the midst of

the celebration, lion, lioness, hyena and snake made

a surprise attack on the animals causing some like

gazelle and antelope to run away. The shout of

celebration soon turned into a desperate cry for help.

Snake tried to bite warthog, but porcupine shot

him in the eye. Elephant, rhino and buffalo formed a

circle around the king and other animals who were

not fast enough to run. Gorilla beat his chest loudly

and ran towards the lion. The lion grabbed the gorilla

and tried to bite him but received a painful slap on

the nose. The wasps managed to drive the lion and

his team away.

During the night, lion and his team attacked the

animals and tried to wrestle buffalo to the ground.

A group of bats came down on the invaders and

fought them away. For the next one week, lion,

lioness, snake and hyena tried to scare the animals

by making loud noises in the night or attacking the

weaker animals, but the stronger animals formed a

protective shield around the weaker ones.

Lion even ordered monkey to pluck out fruits

from all the trees so that the animals could experience

starvation. As monkey tried to pluck and throw

down unripe avocados from a tree, leopard quickly

climbed the tree and chased monkey away.

Unable to stand the confusion, threats and noise

any more, King Beetle ordered the elephant to blow

his trumpet.

When all the animals except for lion and his

former ministers had gathered at the river, King

Beetle began to talk to them. Due to his small size,

he stood on a rock.

“I stand before you today in humility and deep

gratitude. I have called you today not to celebrate

my victory but to talk about a very disturbing thing

in our jungle. Our rules are very clear that there can

be only one king in the jungle but there is a group

of animals who want to spread confusion.”

Just then, lion came running and tried to chase

wildebeest who was standing near squirrel. Squirrel

got some courage, jumped on lion’s head and pulled

his mane. Lion gave a cry of surprise and tried to

shake the squirrel off. The squirrel bit the lion’s ear,

forcing him to run away screaming into the bushes.

The animals clapped for squirrel and King Beetle

continued addressing them.

“You have seen for yourselves how lion and

his ministers ruled us. They were greedy and only

interested in themselves. Did you see any progress

in the jungle?”

“No!” shouted the animals.

“But last week, we managed to remove bad

leaders from positions of authority by coming up

with laws that helped us do this. Now, we cannot

continue to be disturbed by the greedy animals.

What they are doing is a crime against the jungle.

We need a law on how to punish such animals.”

Flamingo raised her wing and King Beetle asked

her to talk.

“The crime that lion is committing is called

treason. It must be punished by death. But we do

not want to kill those animals, let us make a law that

any animal who tries to bring trouble and disunity

in the jungle and who does not obey the laws of

the jungle must be put in a cage and locked up in

a human zoo. I am sure the humans will be willing

to buy a few animals.”

“That is a brilliant idea,” said the king. “Can

baboon put that in our laws. By tomorrow, we will

go and get humans who will arrest these trouble

makers. Do the other animals like this new law?”

“O yeah!”

“My rst plan as king is to remove from the jungle

the animals that will not follow our constitution. Any

animal who has not come to our meeting cannot be

allowed to live by their own laws. We must all live

by the laws that we have made.”

The animals clapped for their king.

“I now appoint Honourable Leopard and

Honourable Flamingo as ministers in charge of

internal security. They will make sure that humans

cannot enter our jungle without paying and they

will also make plans to have lion, lioness, hyena,

crow, snake, monkey, chameleon and jackal taken

away to the zoo.”

The animals sang the jungle song and went away

happy that they had a good king.

Later that day, the internal security ministers

went and held discussions with some ofcials from

the zoo. The ofcials agreed to buy six animals at the

price of two lorries full of wheat pellets. However,

they indicated that they did not want to buy the

crow and the chameleon because people could not

pay to view such animals.

That evening, traps were laid and lion was

caught. He was taken to the zoo.

By the end of the week, all the six troublesome

animals had been trapped and carried away to the

zoo. Crow and chameleon were thrown out of the

jungle and went to live in human country.

Once more, there was peace in the jungle. The

animals were happy that they could continue

building their jungle. King Beetle asked elephant

to blow the trumpet and all the animals gathered

by the river.

“It lls my heart with great joy to be your new

king,” proclaimed King Beetle jubilantly. “You have

made me a king although many negative things have

been said about me by the animals that did not have

any leadership qualities in them. They forgot that

you cannot become good by making others look bad.

It is true as lion and crow kept reminding you that

I used to eat dung and roll in it. In fact, my whole

life was built around dung. I did not care whose

dung it was. Any dung was good for me. But that

was my past. I cannot change my past, but I cannot

let my past stop me from being the leader I was

created to be. We have all made mistakes; anyone

here without mistakes?”

“No!” Shouted the animals in unison.

“And I have learnt from my mistakes,” continued

the king. “One must live a life that is bigger than

self. One must have a vision that is bigger than

the fullment of personal needs. One must think

beyond the cave of past habits and into a future full

of promise. I want us to create a jungle that each of

us can be proud of. A place where we work together

for the good of our jungle. I cannot do this alone. I

need your help and your ideas.”

“We will help you, king,” said the rhino.

“We will help you, king,” repeated the parrot.

“We will help you,” shouted the animals in

unison.

“Thank you for your support,” said the king.

“We have all seen how because of the greed of a

few animals, a lot of our trees have been cut down.

We must plant a fence around our jungle. This is

something that we will do starting today. We will

not need to buy seedlings because we have many

seedlings in the jungle. We will just need to uproot

them and plant them around the jungle. Honourable

Cheetah will be my minister for fence construction.”

The animals clapped and cheered wildly.

“Now that there are enough fruits for all of us,

I want us to plant owers so as to make our jungle

beautiful.”

The animals looked at each other in surprise.

“I see that you are very surprised. Apart from

beauty, I want the owers to be a source of nectar

for our bees.”

The bees buzzed happily with joy.

“Our bees have been very good soldiers. We must

thank them for doing a very good job in protecting

our jungle. In addition, I want bees to have enough

nectar so that they can produce honey for all of us.

We want to add honey to our diet and just like the

wheat pellets, you will be given honey according to

how much work you have done.”

The animals all danced and celebrated with joy.

Even the bees were happy to share their honey with

the rest of the jungle animals.

“The minister for planting owers will be

Honourable Beaver and the minister for honey

distribution will be Honourable Chimpanzee.”

The animals clapped for the new ministers.

“Finally, let me say that I am very sad that a big

part of our jungle has been destroyed. We have a

lot of land that is without trees. I want us to do two

things with that land. One of the things we will do

is to uproot all the tree stumps and level the ground.

We will plant grass so that we can create a eld

where we will be having games and competitions.

Honourable Squirrel will oversee competitions in

the eld. We will invent our own games. The second

thing I want us to do is to start planting new things.

One of them is carrots and the other one is coffee.

We will use the coffee to put some avor in our

water especially at the hot water springs. If we have

more coffee than we need, we can even sell it to the

humans. The carrots will help improve our eye sight

and strengthen our teeth. Honourable warthog shall

be the minister in charge of new plants. Let us not be

afraid to try out new things. Honourable buttery

shall be the minister for new ideas. All your ideas

are welcome. Let us make our jungle a better place

through our great ideas.”

“It is my hope that we will have fun as we

change the jungle into a better place. I am happy to

lead such a great group of leaders. I see a leader in

each one of you. We must all behave in a way that

is responsible so that our young ones can follow

our example. Since I feel that the education of our

young ones is very important, I promote elephant

from the position of a teacher to the position of the

minister for education. He will help us to come up

with the best way to train our young ones so that

they too can be leaders from an early age. In human

country, the grownups lie to the children and the

youth that they are the leaders of tomorrow. The

children and the youth are still being ruled by their

grandfathers or great grandfathers as they wait to

become national or corporate leaders.”

The snail raised his tentacles and was allowed

to speak.

“Is it true that in human country, the children

are still being ruled by their ancestors?” he asked.

The animals burst into laughter and when it had

subsided, King Beetle continued to address them.

“Interesting question. In our jungle, children

are the leaders of today! We will make our children

leaders by teaching the skills of leadership and

responsibility to them.”

The animals clapped, danced and celebrated

for a very long time. Cactapopo Jungle had found

another great king who would continue with what

King Rabbit had started. Finally, they sang the jungle

song and went to work on the fence.

We love the jungle,

We love each other,

We will protect our land,

Each one is useful,

Each one is lovely,

Each one deserves respect.

We got to be different x3

Chapter Review Questions

1. What two values does Honourable Cheetah

demonstrate?

2. What are the indicators that King Lion is a poor

leader?/What wrong things do we see King Lion

and his ministers doing?

3. What qualities make elephant a very effective

leader?

4. Why did King Lion not want to listen to the

opinion of other animals?

5. From warthog’s statement about life when rabbit

was king, what can we conclude about good

national leadership?

6. In our world today, what profession can we liken

the role of the crow to?

7. What in your opinion, inuenced King Beetle to

change his ways and mindset?

8. You may have heard of the expression; ‘When

life gives you lemons, make lemonade.’ How is

this expression applicable in this chapter?

Chapter 7

As King Beetle sat on his throne to rest, he

suddenly realised that he needed a minister for public

work. The minister would oversee the allocation of

work by dividing the animals into different groups

and giving them specic duties. The king decided

to go out and watch the animals work. The most

hardworking one would be made the new minister

for work. Before he could leave, there was a knock

on his door. Buffalo informed him that there was a

group of ants who wanted to have a word with him.

“Send them in,” said King Beetle.

The ants came in, carrying packets of biscuits

on their shoulders.

“What a surprise,” said the king. “What are you

carrying biscuits for?”

“This is a gift to you,” said the ant leader. “We

decided that our king needed some special food.”

“That is a good thought,” said King Beetle. “Did

you make the biscuits yourselves?”

“Not really,” said the ant leader.

“Then you must have bought them.”

“Yes,” said the ant leader.

“You must have a lot of money,” observed the

king.

“We did not buy the biscuits, O king,” said one

of the ants. “We do not have any money. We stole

the biscuits from the humans.”

“Stealing is bad manners,” said the king. “I will

not accept such behaviour in the jungle. Did I ever

ask to be given biscuits? I am not the kind of king

who will be bribed using gifts. The best gift you can

give me is to work hard to improve the condition

of animals in the jungle.”

“We are sorry. It will never happen again,” said

the ant leader.

“What kind of manners do you have? You should

be ashamed of yourself? You stole the biscuits and

then lied to me. We do not want such behaviour in

our jungle.”

The king then told the ants to sit down so that

they could tell him what they had come for. The

ant leaders then told the king that they had come to

ask for a special favour. They had come to ask King

Beetle if he could make one of them a minister. This

is because ants felt that they had not been included

in the king’s government and yet they were insects

just like the king. The ant leader told the king that

the queen ant could make a very good minister for

insects.

When the ant leader nished speaking, King

Beetle was very angry and ordered the ants to leave

the palace. He then told Honourable Elephant to

blow the trumpet.

When all the animals had gathered at the river,

King Beetle told them that a very bad thing had

happened in the jungle. He told them of how some

ants had come to him with stolen biscuits so that

they could bribe him to make their queen a minister

for insects.

The ants who had attended the meeting trembled

with fear when all the animals looked at them.

The king then told the animals that every minister

was chosen because of their hard work and good

behaviour. No minister was chosen simply because

of being a mammal or a sh or a reptile. And no

minister was chosen just because they were the

friend of King Beetle.

“I want all of you to know that hard work, good

behaviour and great ideas are what make a good

leader,” said the king.

The animals clapped and cheered their king. The

king told them that he may be small, but he was not

stupid. Making queen ant a minister when all she

did was sit in her hole and lay eggs was not a wise

thing to do.

“Has any of you ever seen queen ant working?”

asked King Beetle.

“Has any of you ever seen queen ant working?”

100

“No!” shouted the animals in unison.

“Then I would be very unfair to make such an

animal a minister. A minister is a servant of the

other animals. You cannot be a servant if you cannot

work!”

The king told the animals that in human country,

ministers bought themselves big cars lived in big

houses and stole money meant to help the poor. They

did very little work but were paid huge salaries. The

ministers in the jungle were different. They worked

hard to make sure that all animals got their share

of food.

The animals clapped their paws and birds apped

their wings.

Lady swan lifted a wing and King Beetle allowed

her to speak.

“We are very happy to have such a wise king,”

said the swan. “I will work with all my heart to

make sure that our jungle becomes a better place. I

did not work very hard during King Rabbit’s time

because I did not think that a rabbit could be a king

but when I look around and see how the jungle has

become so green and full of fruit trees, I now know

that a good king is not one who has a big roar or a

big body. I have decided to work to make our jungle

even better.”

“Thank you, lady swan,” said King Beetle. “I am

happy to hear that you are ready to work. Let us all

101

work hard so that our young ones will have a better

life than we did. We can now all enjoy mangoes

and paw paws because of the work we did a few

years ago. We must not think of taking short cuts

like the ants. You cannot be a good leader if you do

not work.”

The ant leader lifted up his hand and the king

allowed him to speak.

The ant told the animals that he was very sorry

for what he had done. He promised to work hard

and to lead the ants in working for the jungle and

not just for themselves.

King Beetle then ended the meeting with the

jungle song and the animals went to work.

As the animals were leaving the meeting, they

were surprised to see four cars heading in the

direction of the palace. Honourable Elephant stood

in the way of the cars and blew a trumpet. Buffalo,

leopard and rhino also joined Honourable Elephant.

The people in the car got out led by Captain Califogy.

They did not carry big guns with them but some of

them had pistols hidden in their coat and trouser

pockets.

“What do you want in our jungle?” asked

Honourable Elephant. “All humans must pay to

enter the jungle.”

“We just came to congratulate the new king,”

said Captain Califogy. “We have heard that King

102

Beetle is the new king. We brought with us some

beetle food and wheat pellets.”

The humans were led by buffalo and rhino to

the palace after they were searched, and their pistols

taken. When they got to the palace, King Beetle kept

them waiting for two full hours as he was busy

having a meeting with the security team.

When the king nally met them, the humans

presented him with beetle food and wheat pellets.

“What a surprise,” said the king. “What are all

those boxes for?”

“This is a gift to you,” said Captain Califogy.

“We decided that the new king needed some special

food.”

“That is a good thought,” said King Beetle. “What

is that special food?”

“It’s a special meal for beetles made from a

mixture of chocolate and bread crumbs.”

“I am sure by now, the chocolate must have

melted, but I am not such a good eater of sugary

food. What brings you here?”

The humans explained that they had come to

congratulate the new king and to nd out if he

needed their help in any way. King Beetle told the

humans that the animals did not need help from

humans in any way and if they did need human help

in future, a minister would be sent to the human

country.

103

“We also wanted to know if the contract to

build the electric fence around the jungle was still

in place,” said Captain Califogy. “We have bought

all the materials that we need to build the fence.”

“All the contracts that you signed with King Lion

ended with lion. We will build our own fence,” said

King Beetle.

“That is not fair,” said Captain Califogy.

Unable to listen to the humans any more, King

Beetle told them to go away and forget about cutting

down jungle trees because the trees belonged to

the animals. They were forced to go away with the

beetle food and wheat pellets but before they could

leave the palace area, King Beetle gave them his

nal words.

“Next time, do not come bribing me with beetle

food or any such gifts. I am not like the lion who put

self-interest before the interests of the jungle. If you

want to bring me a gift in future, the best gift you

can give me is to work hard to improve the condition

of animals in the jungle. The animals did not elect

me so that I could become rich. They elected me so

that I could serve them.”

“How about the gold-plated den that we brought

King Lion?” asked Captain Califogy. “We were never

paid for the expensive masterpiece. We need it back.”

“That is none of my business. Your agreement

with the previous king was done without my

104

knowledge. I would never have approved of such

a thing. Go and sort it out with lion. He is in one of

your zoos. Let him pay you for the den. And please

leave before we change our minds and lock you up

in the den.”

The humans got into their cars and sped off after

being forced by Honourable Leopard to pay the

jungle entry fee and to collect the melted chocolate.

They were not given their pistols back because it

was against jungle laws for humans to come with

rearms into the jungle.

When the animals began to work, King Beetle

watched secretly from a distance. He saw that each

animal went to the place of work they wanted. To

his shock, he saw Honourable Elephant and lady

elephant go to the eld and uproot all the tree stumps

with their strong trunks. He was even more surprised

to see all the ants including the queen going to

the eld and breaking down the soil from the tree

stumps that Honourable Elephant had uprooted.

Honourable Buttery joined them and they started

talking about where to take the tree stumps. After

some discussion, they decided that the stumps could

be sold to humans so as to reduce the burden of

carrying them. Humans could come with their big

lorries and carry away the stumps and in exchange

they could supply ower seedlings. Lady Elephant

was so happy that she took some water from the

105

river with her trunk and splashed it on the trees. It

felt so good to have the sense of unity with fellow

animals and to work together by sharing ideas that

would improve the jungle.

King Beetle then moved to the fence and

watched as Honourable Cheetah led the animals

in planting the fence. The swan worked hard in

uprooting seedlings from other parts of the forest

and bringing them to the border where animals

such as gorilla, wildebeest, Honourable Beaver,

Honourable Chimpanzee, mongoose, gazelle and

the bear planted the seedlings in a row.

The king then moved on to the area where coffee

and carrots were to be planted. He was satised to see

Honourable Warthog, Lady Warthog, Honourable

Flamingo, eagle, crocodile and earthworm clearing

and working on the land. He wondered who would

bring the carrot and coffee seeds. As the king was

leaving, he was surprised to see a huge lorry coming

to the area where coffee and carrots were to be

planted. Honourable Leopard and the dragon y

were directing the people in the lorry. When they

got to the place where the animals were standing,

they opened the lorry and started removing the

coffee seedlings and packets containing carrot and

cabbage seeds. The lorry then went to the animal

dung collection point and the humans loaded all the

dung into the lorry. Honourable Buttery then talked

106

with the man in charge of the lorry and they agreed

to exchange the tree stumps with ower seedlings.

King Beetle was very happy when he went back

to the palace. No one had noticed him leaving and

the security team was very surprised to see him

returning. They had sent a few wasps and bees to

search for him, but they had returned without having

found the king.

“I was taking a look at how the work is going

on,” said King Beetle.

“You must never leave the palace without letting

the security team know,” said rhino rmly. “It makes

our work very difcult. What if anything would

happen to you?”

The buffalo explained to the king that once an

animal occupied the position of king, they were no

longer just a normal animal. They represented the

face of the jungle to the outside world. A king could

not put their life at risk because in doing so, they put

all animals at risk. In the same way, any animal who

insulted or put the life of the king at risk, insulted

all the animals in the jungle. The ofce of the king

was to be treated with total respect and his authority

was to be respected by all. This applied to all the

other authority in the jungle. Even the ministers

were simply discharging the delegated duties to

roles which the king ought to have been performing.

107

“Do not worry,” said King Beetle. “I know that

you all mean well for the jungle. I was wrong in what

I did. Next time I will inform the security team of

my whereabouts any time I am leaving the palace.”

For the next three years, the work in the jungle

went on very well. The owers made the jungle very

beautiful which increased the number of tourists. The

bees began to produce more honey and animals who

worked well were given a leaf of honey each week.

Competitions began in the eld and the animals

had so much fun. To keep the cheetah from always

winning the short races, they made all animals run

in pairs with their legs tied together. With time, they

grouped the animals according to their kind and

had races for the cats, for the big animals, for the

small animals and also for the birds. The animals

who lived in water also had their own competitions

which made the sh feel that they were part and

parcel of the jungle. On occasion, some of the land

animals got into the river and lake so as to compete

with the water animals. When it came to swimming,

Honourable Cheetah was no match for the gifted

crocodile.

The fence round the jungle was completed in

two years and the animals enjoyed protection from

greedy humans. The carrots and cabbages that had

been planted grew and were shared amongst the

animals.

108

The fame of King Beetle spread to distant jungles

and human country such that many ministers from

foreign lands were sent to Cactapopo Jungle so as to

learn the secrets of what had led to the successful

growth of the jungle economy.

Under the leadership of King Beetle, the animals

set new records of achievement. The tortoise was able

to run faster than the elephant in some races. The

Honourable Warthog became the new swimming

champion. All the animals began to take a morning

jog which made them healthier and more active

during the day. King Beetle encouraged all the

animals to try doing something new every year.

When porcupine challenged Honourable Cheetah

to a race, the animals thought that porcupine was

joking. But unknown to them, porcupine had been

training for two hours every day for the past two

years. He would run up the hill and also try running

under the water. Sometimes, the porcupine would

run backwards or tie a stone to his stomach while

training. He became very fast and had managed

to outrun zebra. Honourable cheetah accepted

porcupine’s challenge and the animals gathered to

watch the race. Giraffe also decided to join the race

even though he had not been training.

When sparrow blew the whistle, the three animals

ran with all their might. Honourable Cheetah won

the race but had to really put in some extra effort

109

because porcupine was very close behind him.

Giraffe was left far behind the two animals. He

nished the race two minutes after porcupine. The

animals were very shocked that porcupine could

actually run faster than giraffe. King Beetle gave

porcupine a calabash of honey and all the animals

clapped. More animals began to train to do different

things and to develop their talents.

However, zebra complained to lady zebra that

porcupine was just showing off. The tick overheard

this and waited until zebra lay down on the grass

before approaching him.

“Did you hear what King Beetle said about you?”

“No, I did not,” answered zebra.

“He said that you are the most useless election

ofcial to ever walk the face of the earth.”

“Really?”

“Yes. He even told me that you should not be an

election ofcial. That you cannot even count your

own stripes, leave alone election votes.”

“That’s so unfair of the small king,” said zebra

bitterly.

“Don’t worry my friend,” whispered the tick.

“I’m the only one who believes in you.”

“Thank you so much, my friend, I do not know

what I could do without you.”

“You can count on me,” whispered the tick as

he drank a little of zebra’s blood. The zebra felt a

110

little pain but allowed the tick to drink a few more

drops of blood.

“You have the sweetest blood in the jungle. Let

me go and sleep a little. Please don’t tell any animal

about our conversation.”

The tick then went to the giraffe and requested

to tell him something important. The giraffe bent his

head down and allowed the tick to hop on to his ear.

“You will not believe what King Beetle said about

you,” began the tick.

“What did he say?” asked giraffe.

“He said that you have a very small brain inside

your small head. I heard him telling his wife that

you are a poor election ofcial and that your height

is inversely proportional to your intelligence.”

“Oh my goodness,” moaned the giraffe. “That

small insect is unt to be king.”

“He thinks that your head is not proportional to

your body. He said that you look like a contraption.”

“Gosh, what is a contraption?”

“You don’t want to know. It’s the worst name

that you can ever be called.”

“I will go and deal with that small contraption

of a king,” said giraffe angrily.

“Don’t go now,” pleaded the tick. “I will tell you

when the rhino and buffalo are sleeping. If you go

now, you will be attacked by the strong bodyguards.

You may be tall, but you are not strong.”

111

“I guess you are right,” said giraffe. “When you

catch those fat animals sleeping, please let me know.”

“I will,” said the tick as he drank a little of

giraffe’s blood. “Just know that I value you very

much. You have the potential to be king. Your blood

tastes like royalty. Please don’t tell any animal about

our conversation.”

“Thanks a lot. It’s good to have a friend like you.”

The tick then approached Honourable Cheetah.

“Do you know what the little king said about

you?” asked the tick.

“I really do not want to listen to gossip,” said

Honourable Cheetah. “He may be little, but he is

still the king. The effectiveness of a leader cannot

be measured using physical stature. Do you think

that you would make a better king?”

“Don’t you want to hear what the king said about

you?” asked the tick.

“I think that the king can tell me what he thinks

about me without using you as a messenger. Why

don’t we go to the king right now and you can tell

him what he said about me?”

“I think you don’t like me,” said the tick.

“You have a very shallow reasoning capacity

and a very bad attitude. Get away from me, little

animal. You do not walk in the light. Your intention

is obviously not good and evidently you do not seek

the good of our jungle. I will never stoop down to

112

your level. The king is not divisive or a busybody

like you. Be very much ashamed of yourself.”

The tick walked away in shame, hid himself in

a hole and cried bitterly. Ant who happened to be

working in the hole told the tick that Honourable

Cheetah was right. Unable to bear his sorrow, the

tick went and buried himself in a heap of dung.

In the course of time, Honourable Buttery

approached King Beetle and informed him of an

idea that he had been thinking of. Honourable

Buttery told the king that the committee that had

been appointed to shortlist candidates wishing to

participate in the elections had failed in their duty.

By allowing lion to be one of the candidates in the

previous elections, the committee had failed because

lion did not meet all the necessary qualications. To

prevent such a thing from ever happening again,

Honourable Buttery recommended two things. One

of them was that there needed to be a leadership

school in the jungle and a new law that made it

impossible for an animal to be a king if they had not

been trained in the school of leadership. The other

recommendation was that the committee that had

been appointed to shortlist animals that qualied

to be king should be investigated and possibly

restructured if found guilty of negligence.

The king loved his minister’s ideas. He called all

the ministers together and after some discussion,

113

they all agreed that Honourable Buttery’s ideas

were very good for the jungle. Honourable elephant

was given the task of setting up a leadership school

and to develop a training course that would equip

the animals with leadership skills. A new law was

written down which made it a requirement to have

all future candidates wishing to be king, go through

the leadership training course in the new school of

leadership. The intelligence team was also given

the responsibility of investigating the conduct of

committee members responsible for shortlisting

election candidates during the previous elections.

Investigations revealed that giraffe had been given

wheat pellets by the lion so as not to strike him out of

the contest. The tortoise and zebra had complained to

committee members about lion’s bad habit of using

lies to discredit his opponent, but giraffe had said

that a little lying was not a very bad thing as long

as it did not hurt anyone.

When King Beetle was given the report on

giraffe’s conduct, he called a meeting and in the

presence of all the animals demoted giraffe from

being the head of the election committee. He

replaced giraffe with zebra. The king informed the

jungle community that giraffe had received wheat

pellets from lion which obscured his vision and

twisted his sense of judgement. This had caused

him to turn a blind eye on lion who was using lies

114

and half-truths in the campaign period to inuence

the animals vote for him.

The animals came up with a law that set a new

form of punishment for a jungle animal caught

abusing their position of authority. Any animal

found to have misused their powers for their own

selsh ends was required to get into the dung pit

and roll in the dung for half a day.

Giraffe was thoroughly embarrassed when all

the jungle animals laughed as he rolled in the dung.

It took a whole week for the smell of dung to leave

his body. Most animals avoided making physical

contact with him for the duration of the week. Even

lady giraffe kept away from her husband. When one

week was over, giraffe was made to openly apologise

to all the animals for having received a bribe and

for failing in his duty.

115

Chapter Review Questions

1. Ants present a gift to King Beetle. Why does the

king not accept the gift?

2. How relevant is the ministerial position that ants

wanted created?

3. How would you describe the mood, attitude and

state of the animals as they worked?

4. In one or two words, how can you describe tick’s

behaviour? Give a reason for this.

5. What is the impact of tick’s behaviour upon the

jungle?

6. Discuss the response of zebra and giraffe. How

does it contribute to the objective of the tick?

116

Chapter 8

When the coffee trees grew and started to produce

coffee seeds, King Beetle told Honourable Elephant,

rhino and buffalo to crush the seeds into powder.

The powder was then thrown into the river so that

animals could drink avoured water. Unfortunately,

the coffee made the water very bitter for the sh

and the river animals. The water turned brown in

colour. Some of the young sh and tadpoles died

from the coffee powder. Kingsher took advantage

of the situation and ate some of the dead sh. Many

of the river animals complained and talked about

replacing King Beetle.

“We need our own king,” said the tilapia sh.

“Our little ones have died and this water is terrible.”

The dead sh being swept down into the ocean

made some meat-eating sh that lived in the ocean

to swim into the river. The piranhas swam upstream

and ate all the dead sh they met. After eating the

dead sh, they also attacked the living sh and

chased them with the intention of eating them.

The sh cried out, but the land animals could

not hear their cry. It was crocodile who saw the

117

piranhas chasing the river sh such as tilapia and

rushed out of the river to report the matter to the

security minister. Honourable Leopard jumped into

the river hoping to chase the piranhas away but

they bit him and made him swim out of the water.

Honourable Leopard ran to the king and told

him about how several sh had lost their lives. The

king asked Honourable Elephant to blow the trumpet

and the animals gathered by the river. They were

all shocked to see the piranhas.

“We have a new threat from the ocean,” said the

king. “We must deal with the piranhas.”

“If you give us permission, we will eat the

piranhas alive,” said the eagle.

“According to our laws, is it right to take the life

of another animal?” asked King Beetle.

Before any animal could respond, one piranha

jumped out of the river and gave giraffe a bite on

the leg. Giraffe started bleeding and crying loudly.

Other piranhas also tried to jump out of the water

with the intention of biting the animals standing

near the shore, making the animals run away in fear.

The animals had to move their meeting to another

place. Many of the animals were very sad that the

king did not seem to be in control of the situation

or to care about the dead animals.

Unable to resist the temptation, eagle and lady

eagle jumped into the river and caught two piranhas.

118

The piranhas were removed out of the water and

left on dry land. They started screaming for help

and apologising to the animals.

“Please take us back to the river or we will die,”

they cried. “We will all go back to the ocean.”

“You must die,” shouted the giraffe to the

piranhas.

“Take the piranhas back to the river!” ordered

the king.

Unable to hide his anger, giraffe stepped on one

of the piranhas who gave a loud cry.

The leopard stood, picked the remaining piranha

and threw him into the river. Giraffe refused to let

the other piranha go.

“We want a new king!” said giraffe. “King Beetle

has failed as a leader.”

“We want a new king!” shouted the animals.

“Let us make giraffe the new king,” suggested

the peacock.

“Let us make giraffe the new king,” repeated

the parrot.

“You can have a new king if you wish,” said King

Beetle. “But as long as I am king, no animal shall be

put to death. Can giraffe let go of the piranha now!”

“I will not,” said the giraffe.

Without warning, the wasps stung giraffe in the

ears and made him let go of the piranha.

119

“You can have a new king if you wish,” said King Beetle.

120

Honourable Leopard picked up the piranha and

threw him into the river.

“Before you can dethrone me, let me tell you

one or two things. A king is a servant of the jungle

animals, but he must be respected by all. I do not

get moved by noises or pressure from the crowd. I

act according to my inner convictions.”

The giraffe tried to come near the king, but

buffalo lowered his head and blew a very loud

whistle. Rhino also lowered his head, stamped his

feet and blew dust into the air.

When the animals were all quiet, the king

apologised to them for having brought trouble

upon the jungle.

“Yes, I have made a mistake,” said King Beetle.

“I do not pretend to be perfect. If you feel that my

mistake disqualies me from being the king, you can

make giraffe your king. Let me correct giraffe and

set the record straight; I have not failed as a leader.

Failure is not the opposite of success. Failure is an

important part of success if you learn from it.”

The animals nodded their heads in agreement.

The snail raised his tentacles up and was allowed

to speak.

“Please explain to me what conviction means,”

he requested. “You are using very difcult words.”

“Conviction means your deep inner voice. It is

that part of you that makes big difcult decisions,”

121

said Honourable Elephant. “One of the things we

are doing in the animal school is to help our young

ones to develop a deep conviction about what is

right or wrong.”

King Beetle continued with his speech after

thanking Honourable Elephant for the great answer.

“I have done many good things for our jungle,

but because of one big mistake, you want to turn

our jungle into a mess. Aren’t our laws clear that

no animal should eat or kill another animal? I am

aware that our law also says that any animal who

tries to bring trouble and disunity in the jungle and

who does not obey the laws of the jungle must be

put in a cage and locked up in human zoos. Lastly,

I know that anyone seen killing, eating or chasing

with the aim of eating another animal must be put

to death.”

“Exactly,” said the giraffe. “The piranhas are

guilty of chasing other animals with the intention

of eating them.”

“Where are your manners?”

“I am sorry for interrupting the king,” said the

giraffe

“Are the piranhas aware of our laws?”

“No,” responded the animals.

“We will need to train them.”

The animals went back to the river and discovered

that the piranhas had left. King Beetle apologised

122

to the sh for having instructed the animals to add

coffee to the river. The animals forgave the king and

also apologised for having lost respect. To prevent

the piranhas from ever returning to the river, the

animals laid twigs, branches and trees at the point

where the river entered the ocean, leaving only a

small outlet for the water to ow through.

The Honourable Buttery suggested to the king

that the animals could benet greatly from the coffee

plants if they could sell the coffee to humans.

“We can even sell the humans coffee made

from the civet cat’s dung,” suggested Honourable

Buttery. “It is a very expensive type of coffee.”

“Very interesting,” said the king. “I have heard

that civet cats live in Indopoopa Jungle. Are we able

to convince them to travel thousands of kilometres

to join us?”

“There is no harm in trying to persuade the

civet cats to join us,” said Honourable Flamingo.

“The civet cats are also called coffee cats because

they love eating coffee. We have enough coffee to

convince them to join us.”

The king was excited about the new possibilities.

He allowed Honourable Buttery and Honourable

Flamingo to go and convince the coffee cat and his

family to move to Cactapopo Jungle.

When Honourable Flamingo and Honourable

Buttery arrived at Indopoopa Jungle where the coffee

123

cat lived after ying for ten hours, they wasted no

time. They went to where the coffee cat lived and told

him that they had a lot of coffee in Cactapopo Jungle

which could feed him and his family for many years.

The coffee cat was willing to go to Cactapopo Jungle

but said that it was too far away. He had ve small

kittens who could not travel very long distances. He

also had six brothers and ten cousins who had small

kittens too. In total, there were two hundred coffee

cats in Indopoopa Jungle. Honourable Flamingo told

them about the good life in Cactapopo Jungle and

they all longed to go there since Indopoopa Jungle

had become very dirty with animal dung spread

all over the jungle.

Honourable Buttery and Honourable Flamingo

returned to Cactapopo Jungle and told the king and

the ministers about the meeting with coffee cats.

Honourable Warthog raised his paw and was

allowed to talk. He said that the best way to transport

the cats from Indopoopa Jungle was to use a lorry or

a helicopter. The animals decided that a helicopter

might be too expensive. A lorry would be the best

way to transport the cats. The king called all the

animals to a meeting and told them about the new

plan. The animals were very happy. The coffee could

bring them a lot of fame and new things.

The giraffe lifted up his hand and said that rather

than bringing coffee cats into the jungle, the animals

124

could eat the coffee and produce dung which the

humans could buy and make coffee from. Why

should coffee from coffee cat dung be more special

than coffee from zebra or giraffe dung?

“The humans are not that stupid,” said

Honourable Leopard to the giraffe. “If they want

coffee from cat dung, they will not drink coffee

from skunk dung. You know our dungs don’t look

or smell the same.”

“Giraffe dung smells worse than mine,” said

skunk and the animals laughed.

“Why not just sell coffee as it is?” asked frog.

“Because dung coffee is a hundred times more

expensive than normal coffee,” answered the buffalo.

After a long talk, the animals agreed to bring the

cats from Indopoopa Jungle. King Beetle made lady

swan the minister for coffee production and queen

ant the minister for public work after the ministers

had reported that swan and the queen ant were

very hardworking. Honourable Swan could now

start the process of selling coffee and planning for

the transportation of the coffee cats.

After the lorry owner agreed to carry the coffee

cats from Indopoopa Jungle in exchange for one lorry

full of cat dung coffee, the cats were nally brought

to Cactapopo Jungle.

The animals welcomed the cats and gave them

coffee seeds as a snack. Honourable Leopard was

125

given the responsibility of showing the cats around

the jungle and helping them settle with their kittens

but since it was getting dark, he decided to take

them around during the day.

That night, the animals were woken up by shouts

from the squirrels and the sparrows in the trees.

It was discovered that the cats had tried to chase

and eat the sparrows and squirrels. Honourable

Leopard told them that one of the jungle laws was

that anyone seen killing, eating or chasing with the

aim of eating another animal must be put to death.

The coffee cats complained that such laws were

unfair to meat eating animals.

“I am a meat eating animal too,” said Honourable

Leopard to them. “How would you feel if I ate all

of you?”

“That’s not fair,” said the coffee cat leader.

“If any of you eats another animal, I will eat them

alive. Now go to sleep.”

The coffee cats slept but the squirrels and

sparrows stayed awake all night. In the morning,

Honourable Leopard called all the coffee cats for a

meeting. In the meeting, leopard told the cats about

the laws in the jungle. He told them that killing other

animals was a big crime because it was very unfair

to the animal being killed. No animal in the jungle

wanted to be eaten. The cats had to learn how to

eat wheat pellets, fruits, carrots and honey. Some

126

kittens started crying and were taken to the animal

nursery school.

“We want to go back to our jungle,” said the cat

leader.

“We can allow you to go after you produce

enough coffee dung to pay for the lorry that brought

you here. And after that you must produce more

coffee dung to pay for the lorry that will take you

back. We will not ask you to produce some coffee

dung to pay for the food that you have eaten in our

jungle because we are generous animals.”

The coffee cats decided to produce enough coffee

dung to ll two lorries after which they would

leave Cactapopo Jungle. Their dung was dropped

in a separate part of the jungle and not mixed with

that from the rest of the animals. They refused to

intermingle with the rest of the animals and lived in

the coffee garden eating as much coffee as possible.

The kittens were however trained by Honourable

Elephant assisted by tortoise. They were trained on

how to respect the king, how to treat all animals with

respect, how to read and write and how to be good

leaders. The kittens enjoyed life in the nursery and

the honey and wheat pellets that they were given at

break time. They were taught jungle laws and they

got to play games with other animals.

After two months in the jungle, the coffee cats

had produced enough coffee dung to ll up two

127

lorries. It was time to go back to Indopoopa Jungle. The

kittens who had by now grown up to be much bigger

cats refused to leave Cactapopo Jungle. When the

parents realised that the kittens were not interested

in leaving, they decided to have a meeting with the

king.

The cats were taken to the palace by Honourable

Leopard. The king welcomed them to the palace and

served them lots of coffee. They told the king that

they felt that they had been tricked into coming to

Cactapopo Jungle. They felt exploited because they

had been brought to the new jungle because of their

ability to make expensive coffee. King Beetle told

them that he was very sorry if that was what they

felt. He told them that back in Indopoopa Jungle, their

expensive dung only benetted humans. The humans

sold it and the cats were never paid anything for it.

He also told them that in Cactapopo Jungle, the cats

would become part of the jungle and would enjoy

better living conditions and have more food and

friends they would work with. The cats agreed that

the king was right, but they wanted to know how

they would be paid for their coffee dung if they

decided to stay and not to leave.

The king and the cats agreed that any income that

was received from the sale of dung coffee would be

shared with the cats. The cats would receive a quarter

of all the income. They were very happy. From that

128

day onwards, the older cats began to eat pellets and

fruits. They were also happy at the training that

the kittens were receiving. The kittens were more

respectful and obedient to their parents. They were

also more creative and could compose poems and

songs. Honourable Leopard, trained the older cats

on the laws of the jungle after which each cat was

given work to do by Honourable Ant.

Within the next two years that beetle was king,

the jungle grew more than ever before. The new

coffee made the humans pay the animals so much

money that the animals could now buy land to

expand their jungle. They bought twice as much

land and planted a fence and tree seedlings. The

owers grew and multiplied, and the bees had

more food than they needed. They invited their

cousins from Indopoopa Jungle who came and had

to be trained on the laws of the jungle. At rst the

new bees did not want to share their honey with

the rest of the animals but after some training, they

had no problem with making honey to share with

others. King Beetle made an agreement with them

that they could keep a quarter of all the honey that

they produced. The production of honey increased,

and all animals began to enjoy a calabash of honey

instead of the daily leaf of honey.

There was more food than the animals could

eat and some of it had to be sold to humans. All the

129

animals were happy. Even the tilapias and frogs that

had lost their young ones when coffee powder was

poured into the river could now enjoy more wheat

pellets, fruits and honey.

When King Beetle announced that he would be

stepping down as king, the animals would hear none

of it. Giraffe said that the laws must be changed to

allow the king to continue for another ve years if

all animals felt that way. All the animals agreed with

giraffe. The king said that another animal needed to

be given a chance to lead but the animals refused to

listen to the king. That night, the king removed his

royal robe and crown, and ew into the darkness.

The next morning, the animals searched for the

king but could not nd him. The elephant blew the

trumpet and told the animals that they must move on

with life. The king’s wish must be respected, and it

was necessary to elect a new leader. The Honourable

Elephant informed the animals that before he left,

King Beetle had told the ministers that laws must

never be made for the benet of one or a few animals

but rather for the benet of the entire jungle. King

Beetle had felt that the decision to make a new law

that would have allowed him to rule for another

ve years was made with one animal in mind, much

as it might have brought benet to the jungle. The

animals understood the wisdom of King Beetle and

embarked on the process of electing a new king.

130

Chapter Review Questions

1. In your view, did King Beetle fail as a leader?

2. By apologising to the animals, was King Beetle

a weak leader?

3. Why did the animals use a lorry and not a

helicopter to transport the coffee cats from

Indopoopa Jungle to their jungle?

4. Why did the newcomers have to be trained about

the laws of the jungle?

5. Do you agree with giraffe that the law should be

changed to allow King Beetle to continue leading

the animals for another ve years?

6. Do you think that giraffe might have held a

grudge against the king?

131

• Help shape young minds on how to be credible

leaders, how to choose credible leaders and how

to be governed by the rule of law in going about

the election process.

• To inculcate good leadership qualities and a sense

of patriotism and vision in young minds.

• Introduce the learner to global issues such as the

United Nations Universal Declaration of Human

Rights (UDHRs), Sustainable Development Goals

(SDGs), democratic ideals as well as important

economic concepts such as resource allocation,

Economic Growth, Value added and International

trade.

• Train the learner to uphold positive values by

confronting negative moral codes in society such

as corruption, bribery and tribalism.

• Help shape young minds on seeing challenges

as opportunities rather than as obstacles and to

equip the learner with resilience so as to help

them bounce back when tragedy or negative

circumstances strike.

• Help inspire young minds on the value of great

Objectives of the Book

132

ideas and elevate their mindsets to those of

innovators and solution providers.

• Instill in the young minds by way of vivid

examples, ALL the Kenya national values

enshrined in the constitution as well as values

that enhance character development.

• Create a case for the evaluation of leaders against

the background of integrity, vision and a sound

development record.

• Highlight the role that self–interest, corruption

and greed play in taking a nation down the road

of underdevelopment and social injustice and help

the learner develop an internal cultural software

or mechanism that detests and resists corruption.

• Present irrefutable proof that seless and visionary

leadership is the basis upon which a nation can

achieve lasting stability and sustainable growth.

• Present to the learner a strong moral example

of why it is more important to turn down short

term personal gain in the pursuit of the greater

gain of the nation or of character development.

• Develop in the learner the aspiration to live a life

governed by conscience and principles so that

the pursuit of high ideals becomes a way of life.

• Portray to the young learner that populism is

temporary and transitory. A leader must stand

their ground and follow their conviction even if

it means losing their position.

133

Vocabulary

assassination the murder usually of a well-known

individual by sudden or secret attack

often for political reasons

bellowed shouted something with a deep loud

voice

compassionate showing sympathy and concern

for others

constitution a statement of the basic principles

and laws of a country or group

constitution a statement of the basic principles

and laws of a country or group.

contraption something that appears strange or

unnecessarily complicated, and is

often badly made or unsafe

corrupt having a willingness to act dishonestly

in return for money or personal gain

courage bravery. Showing mental or moral

strength in the face of danger, pain

or difculty

dethrone remove from power or position of

authority

dignity the state or quality of being worthy

134

of honour or respect

dimwits a stupid or silly person

endeavor an attempt to achieve a goal

freedom the power or right to do, speak, or

think as one wants

greedy having a selsh desire or appetite for

food, wealth or power

injustice lack of fairness

laws a system of rules which a particular

community develops and uses to

regulate the actions of its members.

loathsome extremely unpleasant

mammal a warm-blooded animal of a class that

is covered with hair or fur. Females

produce milk for the nourishment

of the young, and give birth to live

young ones

manifesto a written statement by a person or

group of people declaring publicly

what their objectives and policies are.

menacingly giving you a feeling that they are

likely to cause harm or put you in

danger

patriotism the feeling of loving your country

more than any others and being

proud of it

persuade cause someone to do something

through reasoning or argument

135

policies a set of ideas or rules that determine

the course of action for a group of

individuals

quills the hollow sharp spines of a porcupine

reign rule over a kingdom or in position

above others

reptile a cold-blooded animal of a class that

has scales or plates. Females lay eggs.

reservoirs large dams or lakes where water is

collected and stored for use

respect a feeling of deep admiration for

someone or something due to their

position, abilities, qualities, or

achievements

scumbags an individual who has done something

unacceptable and who deserves to be

treated with hatred and contempt.

servant leadership is a leadership style in

which the goal of the leader is to

serve

shore the land along the edge of a sea, lake,

or other large body of water.

skunk a cat-sized mammal with black-and-

white striped fur. When threatened it

produces a foul-smelling liquid from

its anal glands and sprays it towards

its attacker

stature an individual’s natural height

136

thunderous extremely loud

treason the crime of betraying one’s country,

especially by attempting to kill or

remove the leaders or government

from ofce

trivialised made something seem less important

values principles or standards of behaviour

vision the ability to think about or plan for

the future with imagination

wisdom the quality of having good judgement

or putting knowledge to good use

wobbled moved unsteadily from side to side