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The lion’s wish

            There was a time when all of the animals in the animal kingdom lived peacefully and without worries about any human-like threat that could jeopardize their existence. Lions were on top of the food chain and anything they wished was fulfilled by other animals.

Anyways, it was a hot afternoon in the Serengeti as the lions rested below a tree when one of them, who was feeling so annoyed by the flies and insects around him, said “These insects are a disgrace to the animal world, they are useless and everything they do is completely irritating.” “The sure are!” said another lion that laid next to him, “We should definitely do something about it, everything would be so much better without them.” Little did they know that getting rid of these tiny animals could affect them and all the animal species in many ways. The leaders of the herd came up with a simple and fast plan; first, they would crush all of those who were under rocks and around trees, then, they would command the birds to get rid of all the flying insects. Eventually their population would decrease to a danger point where there is no turning back and the lions’ wish could finally become true.

The word of the plan spread through the Serengeti in no time, all kinds of animals had an opinion on the matter.

“You are making a huge mistake.” said one of the elephants who was clearly against their plan “You all have to think about the consequences!”

“We don’t care about your opinion or nobody else’s, this plan will be executed by tomorrow and soon you will all be thanking us for making our land a much better place to live in.” said the lion leader.

The plan was finally put into action, insects were no longer an issue for the lions, they had vanished and there were no longer going to exists in the world. Days went by and there only appeared to be good results from the plan, every single lion could now rest without being bothered by any insect.

A couple of weeks had passed now, the lions woke up from one of their naps and couldn’t believe what they were looking at. Just outside their homes, there was a huge line of starving animals ready to complain and demand food from the lions who had taken theirs away. From rodents to Komodo Dragons, birds, anteaters, and frogs seemed to have taken a huge impact from the plan.

“We’ve been losing our family and friends because of your plan!” said a small lamai who, by the looks of his body, had not eaten in days now.

“You are so ignorant and selfish that it didn't occur to you what could happen to us.” an anteater shouted.

These complaints were meaningless to the lions, they just didn’t care. It was not their problem, so they kicked everyone out and told them to take their problems somewhere else.

One month after the plan, the lions started to notice how quiet the Serengeti was, happiness and prosperity were totally faded and this was when a lion realized, “We’ve broken the food chain.” he said frightened, “This will ruin our lives, we’ve made many wrong decisions and this will reflect in our future.”

The lion was right, it was too late for them to do anything. The end of life on Earth had come to its end, the last lions had nothing to do but to regret the paths they had taken. What started as a commodity ended up being their doom; no talking animal stood foot on this planet ever again and it was all caused by ignorance, ambition, and selfishness.

Isabel Palazuelos

Jorge Andres Diaz