“Please, Lion,” Monkey begged.
“Please, Lion,” Ostrich repeated.
Lion had no choice. “Very well then,” Lion surrendered. “Monkey can go with you.”
“Who else will go?” asked Lion. The Animals were quiet. The Namib Desert was a dangerous place.
“We need more Animals to go on our mission to find where Sun goes to sleep,” Lion insisted. “We need strong and brave animals to complete our mission.” But he got no response.
“Who is strong and brave enough to go?” Lion roared impatiently.
Then Meerkat made his decision. He went to stand in front of Lion. He stood upright on his little hind legs and he grinned from ear to ear.
“I will go! I will go!” exclaimed Meerkat excitedly.
“Suricate, you are but a little bitty animal,” Lion said. “You are too small!” Meerkat stood on the tips of his toes, so that he might appear a little taller, and so that he could look Lion in the eye.
“You can call me Meerkat, Lion,” he invited. “All my friends do!” He gave Lion a wide grin.
“Thank you, Meerkat,” Lion acknowledged Meerkat’s invitation to be his friend. “But I cannot let you go on this dangerous mission,” Lion continued.
“I can live in the desert! I want to go! Please let me go!”
Then Monkey came to stand next to Meerkat. He also stood on his hind legs in front of Lion.
“Please, Lion. He is just a little bit smaller than I am,” said Monkey.
“Please, Lion,” echoed Meerkat. Lion still shook his head, but when Ostrich stood closer and added his voice to their “Please, Lion,” Lion had no choice anymore.
“Very well then, Meerkat” said Lion resignedly, “you can go!”
With a whoop of delight Meerkat and Monkey danced around the circle of Animals. All the Animals laughed in delight. Except Hyena, he did not laugh.
Then Jackal asked: “Who will come with us to protect us?” The Animals looked around.
“Where is Porcupine?” Antelope asked. “He should go with you. He protected you on all your other missions!” But Porcupine shook his head sadly.
“My little feet are still too sore from when I hurt them in the fire! I cannot go!” Porcupine was very sad that he could not join his friends to find the place where Sun goes to sleep. He had to swallow a big lump in his throat, so that he would not cry in front of the Animals.
“Ooh,” cried the Animals. “Who then could go along to protect the team? Who would be brave enough?” they asked.
“Sss…I can go,” hissed Snake, licking his lips while staring at Monkey. “Yess...I can go!”
Monkey stood in front of Snake, too mesmerized to move at first. “Yess…” hissed Snake again and Monkey took a hasty step backwards. But he did not know that Meerkat was standing right behind him. He tripped and then flew over backwards with his little bottom in the air as he somersaulted over Meerkat. Monkey and Meerkat became tangled up into a single ball, and together they rolled away, shrieking and laughing as they tried to untangle themselves.
All the Animals laughed at Monkey and Meerkat. Except Hyena, he did not laugh.
~~**~~
That night there was a full moon. Lion invited Hyena over to talk a little while. Hyena did not want to talk with Lion. He wanted to make an excuse, but one look at Lion’s face and he changed his mind.
Lion and Hyena sat under the big tree. They sat alone to talk. Lion was staring straight at Hyena with his yellow eyes. Lion did not blink an eye.
The Animals were standing a respectful distance away, straining their ears to hear what Lion had to say to Hyena. But they couldn’t hear anything.
“Hyena is in trouble,” they whispered.
“Hyena isn’t reliable,” they said.
“Who could trust Hyena?” they asked.
“Remember what happened the last time when there was an important mission?” they reminded each other. “Remember, that was the time when we had to find the mountain that is called Kilimanjaro!”
“Yes, we still remember that time,” they nodded.
“That’s why we can’t trust Hyena!” they decided.
“Yes, because of what happened the last time,” they confirmed. “That’s why we can’t trust Hyena.”
The Animals could see that Hyena was uneasy. Nervous shivers ran down his body. At first Hyena kept his head high and he looked Lion right in the eye. He did not speak, but Lion kept talking to him. Then, after a long time, Hyena slowly nodded and then he hung his head low.
But the Animals couldn’t hear anything that was said…
~~**~~
Early the next morning Lion called the Animals together to confirm the Plan.
“Enough with the noise!” roared Lion. Slowly the noise died down and Lion could continue.
“Here is the Plan!” Total silence fell. Who had Lion chosen to go along to find the place where Sun goes to sleep? Who would go along to protect the team?
“Jackal, you will lead the team! You must find out if Sun is the one that lights the fires when he goes to sleep at the end of the day.” Jackal nodded. He knew what they had to do.
Lion continued: “You must listen to the wind when it blows. Catch the rumours and the whispers that float in the air. Warn the team when you smell any danger, so that they may be safe!” Jackal nodded once more. He knew what he had to do.
“Ostrich, you will go along!” confirmed Lion. “I know that you will do what you promised to do.” Ostrich held his head high.
Lion looked at Monkey and Meerkat. They were standing at the front of the circle of Animals. Both of them were standing on their little hind legs. Meerkat stood on the little tips of his toes, so that he might appear to be taller. He pushed out his little chest, so that the Animals could see that he was a brave little animal. At first he was nervous, but then he looked up and caught Lion’s eye. Meerkat grinned from ear to ear.
“Yes, you two will go along,” Lion confirmed. Meerkat gave a shout of delight and then he dropped down on all fours. He ran up to Lion and said: “Remember to call me Meerkat, Lion. All my friends do!”
“Ostrich, you are going to have a busy time looking after these two!” exclaimed Lion. Then he looked sternly at Monkey and Meerkat. “You must listen to Ostrich at all times, do you hear!” he ordered them. Then Lion smiled and added in a softer voice: “You will be good company to the others. Keep everyone in good spirits, you two!” Monkey and Meerkat ran around each other so fast that they again tangled up into a ball. They rolled around shrieking and laughing, while they tried to untangle themselves.
All the Animals laughed. Except Hyena, he did not laugh.
“Who will come along to protect us, Lion?” Jackal asked when the noise had died down.
Lion didn’t answer immediately. All the Animals held their breath. Then Lion made the announcement.
“Hyena will go along with you!”
“Ooh!” cried the Animals.
“Hyena will go along to protect you. He has big teeth and strong jaws,” added Lion. “Yes, Hyena can protect you.” Lion looked at Hyena. He was sitting a little bit to the side, slightly outside of the circle of Animals. Hyena looked up and saw Lion staring at him.
“Yes, I have big teeth and I can bite very hard, Lion,” Hyena replied quickly. “I will go with the team to protect them from danger!”
A shocked silence followed this. Nobody made a sound. Monkey and Meerkat clung to each other in fear. Jackal took a deep breath to help calm him down. He could feel his heart beating wildly in his chest. He had to take a second deep breath before he could speak.
“But..but c-could we t-trust him..?” stuttered Jackal into the silence.
~~**~~
“Ooh!” cried the Animals. “Could we trust Hyena?” they whispered. Then everyone had something to say.
Except Ostrich, he didn’t say anything. Ostrich looked at Hyena where he was sitting a little to the side, outside of the circle of Animal
s. Hyena stared off into the distance. Then, finally, he dropped his gaze and hung his head. Hyena didn’t have anything to say either.
Then Ostrich called: “Come on, Jackal! We have a mission to complete!”
Ostrich had to call out to Jackal a second time before he looked up.
“Come on, you two!” Ostrich called out to Monkey and Meerkat. They were still standing in the circle of Animals, clinging to each other in fear. “Hurry up!” Ostrich ordered. “We must follow Sun to find the place where he goes to sleep.”
Jackal stood up and shook his fur. He took another deep breath and then he trotted out in front. He remembered to keep his tail up in the air, so that he may appear to be confident. Meerkat broke free from Monkey and ran off after Jackal.
“Wait for me! Wait for me!” shouted Monkey. He was trying to catch up with Jackal and Meerkat.
Ostrich walked a few steps and then turned around to wave goodbye to the Animals. Hyena had remained where he was, sitting outside the circle of Animals. His head was hanging low between his shoulders, his tail tucked in underneath him.
“Hyena! Hurry up! We have a mission to complete!” Ostrich called. At first Hyena did not move. But then he stood up slowly and without looking at any of the Animals, he loped off to fall into place at the back of the little group. His tail remained tucked in, flat beneath his body.
~~**~~
“Ooh, look at this!” Meerkat called. But before anyone could have a look, Meerkat had popped the scorpion into his mouth. He was running ahead of the little group, looking behind every bush and turning over every rock that lay in his path. Then he’d wait for the group to catch up with him, to tell them what he’d found. Then off he went again, to see if he could find something else.
“Jackal, have I told you to call me Meerkat?” he asked, but without waiting for a response, he invited: “You must remember to call me Meerkat. All my friends do!” Then he ran ahead again, to search behind a clump of grass.
“You are a friendly little animal, Meerkat.” Jackal said. Then he asked “Do you always talk so much?”
Meerkat grinned up at Jackal. “Yes, I am a friendly little animal, Jackal.” Then he called out to Ostrich, who was following behind.
“Ostrich! Have I told you to call me Meerkat?” and again, without waiting for a response he invited: “You must remember to call me Meerkat, Ostrich! All my friends do!”
Ostrich smiled at Meerkat. “You are a friendly little animal, aren’t you, Meerkat?” But Ostrich couldn’t hear Meerkat’s response, as Meerkat had already went ahead again, looking for another rock to turn over.
“Do you want to ride on my back, Monkey?” Ostrich turned around to ask his little friend. “No, thank you, Ostrich,” he declined. “Today I feel a little bit allergic to feathers and I do not want to sneeze again. I think I will walk.”
Monkey walked behind Ostrich for a while. He was tired from running with Meerkat, and he was falling behind a bit. Then suddenly he heard a noise behind him. He looked around, and found himself staring directly into Hyena’s face. Hyena was grinning widely at Monkey. Monkey could see Hyena’s big fangs, where his lips curled back when he laughed. He could count Hyena’s teeth, so close was it to his face. Monkey stared at it with wide eyes. Then Hyena snapped his mouth shut with a loud click of his big teeth.
Monkey stumbled and struggled to get his legs to work. He ran up to Ostrich.
“I will ride with you, Ostrich!” he called. “I think my allergy is better now.” And with that he jumped up onto Ostrich’s back to ride with him.
Monkey looked back, but Hyena was not laughing anymore. Hyena’s head hung low between his shoulders, as he loped along at the back of the group. His tail was flattened underneath his body.
~~**~~
The team travelled for many days. They walked West, in the direction where Sun went to sleep. But every day they were too late to catch Sun before he slipped down and away for the night.
“Do you think it is Sun that lights the fires when he goes to sleep, Jackal?” asked Ostrich one evening, when again Sun had slipped away before they could catch him.
“I do not know, Ostrich,” replied Jackal. “But we must follow him to find out.”
So every day they walked some more. They travelled west, trying to catch Sun before he slipped down and away for the night.
In the morning, Monkey and Meerkat would wake them up with their chatter. Jackal would go out to listen to the wind and to catch the rumours and whispers floating around. He smelled the air to check for danger.
Ostrich kept an eye on Monkey and Meerkat. Sometimes when they were tired, they would ride with Ostrich, on his back.
At night the team huddled together to sleep. Hyena did not huddle too close and he was always lying a little bit away from the others. He often got up during the night. Then he would run some distance away to check if there were dangers in the area. He always came back and before he lay down again, he would walk around the team, to check if everything was safe.
~~**~~
It was very hot and dry. They had left the trees and bush behind them. The Earth was dry and only small shrubs and short grasses were growing. There were lots of rocks, and in places the red sand dunes were beginning to show through the grass and shrubs. Sometimes they saw short grass growing on the dunes, but sometimes the dunes were only sand.
Then, one day they reached a place where there were dunes everywhere around them, for as far as they could see. The dunes were very, very high and the sand was red and orange and only a little bit brown. Sometimes a little bit of grass grew in the hollows between the dunes.
“Ooh, let’s go and play!” Monkey invited Meerkat. They ran up a sand dune, but before they were halfway up they were tired and had to slow down.
“This is a very big dune, Monkey!” exclaimed Meerkat. Even Meerkat had to sit down to rest. It was the biggest sand dune he had ever seen. Before they could reach the top they had to sit down again to rest. Far down they could see Jackal, Ostrich and Hyena.
“Come and join us!” they shouted. They had to call a couple of times before the others heard them. They sat down to wait for the others to catch up with them. Together the team climbed to the top of the dune.
“Ooh!” cried Monkey, when they reached the top. They could see very far from where they were standing at the top. Monkey turned around and around and everywhere he looked he could see dunes of sand. The sand was red and the dunes were very high. It was everywhere, each dune following the other, one neatly tucked in behind the next one. It was beautiful.
Meerkat sat down. For once he had nothing to say and he sat quietly as he looked at the beauty around him. Monkey sat down next to him. “How beautiful!” is all that Monkey managed to exclaim.
Jackal sniffed the air and then he slowly sat down, right next to Monkey. Ostrich flapped his wings a couple of times. He had never seen anything as beautiful as this. He chose a spot next to Jackal. The four friends sat together and stared out over the horizon in wonder.
Hyena was scurrying around behind the little group of friends. Then he hesitantly came to stand behind them, his head hanging between his shoulders. Ostrich looked around. “Come and sit with us, Hyena,” Ostrich invited, pointing to a spot next to him. Hyena lifted his head, gave a shy grin and quickly jumped to sit down next to Ostrich. “Thank you, Ostrich,” Hyena whispered softly, so that only Ostrich could hear.
The little group was very quiet while they watched Sun slipping away for the night.
~~**~~
“Come and play!” called Monkey. Sun was not fully awake yet and the air was cool and soft. Monkey ran a little way up a sand dune and then he stopped and turned around. “Come play!” he called again. He took a giant leap down the dune, landed on his little bottom and slid down in the sand all the way to where the team was still sleeping.
“Come and play!” he nudged Meerkat. Meerkat stood up, gave a big yawn and with a shout of delight he ran up the dune. Monkey fol
lowed close on his heels. When they were a little way up the dune, they turned around and Monkey showed Meerkat how to take a giant leap down, to then slide down the sand and back to the rest of the team.
“Jackal, come play with us!” At first Jackal pretended that he didn’t want to. Playing in the sand was what little animals did, not big, grown-up animals like Jackal. But then eventually he couldn’t resist it and he ran up the dune to join Monkey and Meerkat.
Ostrich scratched out a little hollow in the sand and sat down in the little hollow. Then he ruffled his feather and flapped his wings so fast that there was sand flying everywhere and all over Ostrich. He ruffled his feathers and shook his body. Hyena looked on as Ostrich enjoyed his bath in the sand.
“Go play with the others, Hyena,” Ostrich suggested. Hyena looked at Monkey, Meerkat and Jackal where they played and jumped in the sand.
“But they haven’t invited me, Ostrich. How can I play with them if they don’t want me to play with them?” Hyena shook his head.
“Go ahead, go play with them.” Ostrich urged. Hyena slowly got to his feet. He stood hesitantly for a little while and then he shyly loped off in the direction of the others, his head hanging low between his shoulders.
Monkey, Meerkat and Jackal were playing tag across the sand dunes. There were shouts of laughter as they chased each other. Monkey jumped into the air, rolled up into a little ball and then tumbled down the steep slope. Then he’d get up, chase the others and roll down again to escape them. Everyone was laughing.
“You’re very funny, Monkey.” Hyena laughed as Monkey rolled to a stop at the bottom of the slope. “Do it again!”
Monkey looked up to see Hyena standing very close to him. He shrieked! Then he ran up the sand dune to the others. He stayed up there, with Meerkat and Jackal. They didn’t want to play anymore.
~~**~~
They travelled for many more days. Sometimes they climbed over the sand dunes, but mostly they had to walk for many miles to go around the dunes. And every time there was yet another large dune ahead of them. It was extremely hot and they were getting very tired. They kept walking west, where Sun went to sleep. Every evening Sun slipped away before they could catch up with him.