Storytelling Week 13: The King's Lion

Once upon a time, there was a lion. He lived in a the castle of Bloomington, and was the pet of the King. He was a good lion, and the King always took care of him, keeping his fur beautiful and shiny, and keeping his stomach full with wonderful food. The King would often turn to the lion for advice; they tended to have some very deep and intellectual conversations, for he was a smart lion. One day, twelve men showed up on the steps of the castle. They were a little smaller than regular men, with thinner arms and a more petite stature overall. They claimed to be huntsmen, and requested that the King take the huntsmen in for service. The King approved the request, and the King acquired 12 new huntsmen. However, something was a little off with the huntsmen, and the Lion could smell it...

Some days later, the King and the Lion were sitting on the balcony, caught up in conversation; the King stroking the Lion's mane as they spoke.
"My King, I must speak with you on a matter concerning the new huntsmen." requested the Lion.
"The huntsmen? Yes, they've served me well the past few days haven't they? Dedicated men, they are."
"That is what I want to speak with you about, though. I sense that these men are in fact women," stated the Lion.
The King perked, "Women? No, thats impossible."
"They are, sire. test them tomorrow by throwing peas down on the ground before their step. They will play in them as no man would."

The servant of the King overheard the plan, however, and reported it to the huntsmen. The huntsmen passed the test.

"They are not women, Lion! They stepped firmly onto the peas. Why would you try to fool me?" said the angry King.
"I swear by it, my King! They were informed by someone. Please, place spinning wheels in their sight tomorrow and it will show they are but girls dressed as huntsmen."

But the servant, again, forewarned the huntsmen so that when they saw the spinning wheels, the huntsmen looked right past them.

"Do you think me a fool, Lion! They looked right passed the spinning wheels just as men do!"
"My King, I know they are women, please..."
The King interrupted, "No! Leave me be, Lion, for they are not women."

A few days passed, and the King figure out the secret... the twelve huntsmen were women, and the leader was his former wife. The King rejoiced, and repaired relations with his Lion. The Lion was a good, dedicated Lion until the day of his death.

A pet lion
Source: Pixabay

Author's Note: This story originated from The Twelve Huntsmen from LibriVox Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. The story is the same, only the background is that when the King was a prince, he fell in love and married a girl, but his father made him promise to marry another as he died. So the prince became King, had to leave his wife, and the wife got eleven other girls and took them to work for the King as huntsmen. The King eventually figured out it was her though, and they lived happily ever after.