back into the den. I noticed his mother was still in there.

"That was weird," Sarafina whispered to me. I nodded in agreement.

Sarafina and I played together like every other normal day. She was soon called by her mother for bath time so I decided to wander around. I was trying to catch everything that moved but that day I wasn't having much luck. I saw a grasshopper, sitting between the blades of grass. It seemed easy enough. I stayed low and quiet. Silence was my cover as I waited for the right moment. I jumped out of the grass but as soon as my paws were off the ground the grasshopper jumped away. I fell onto the hard ground head first.

"Stupid grasshopper. What's wrong with me today? I'm not getting anything," I mumbled to myself, thinking I was alone. That's when I heard a noise. I looked up and noticed Taka, sitting alone under a tree. I approached him slowly. I couldn't help but see how upset he looked. 'I should turn away...' I thought to myself but my conscious got the best of me and I couldn't look away.

"Taka?" I asked. He turned and looked at me.

"What?" He replied.

"Well....I just saw you and I wanted to...Taka, what's wrong?" I finally managed to say. Taka looked down at his paws.

"It's just my brother..." Taka said under his breath, but loud enough so I could hear.

"What about Mufasa?" I questioned him. I felt as if I was interrogating him for a crime or something. It didn't seem nice to ask so many questions.

"Not just him. Mufasa and my father. I know I would make a much better king," Taka explained, "If I was given the chance."

"I'm sure you would too," I said, trying to make him feel better. I wasn't sure what to say but as Taka sat there with his head down, sadness in his eyes, feeling sorry for himself I knew to make him feel better I should just agree with him. Even though, I had no idea what kind of king Taka would be. I barely knew anything about him or Mufasa.

"Really?" Taka asked me. I nodded yes and he smiled.

For the rest of that day Taka did not hide away from the rest of us like he normally does,and I was happy to help him. When Mufasa's training was done he decided to join us. It was already late though. The Pride Land's sky was filled with colors as the bright sun fell and the stars started to rise. Sarafina and I were laying out near the den just talking. Taka, who had spent the whole day with us, decided to go on his own. Sarafina was already tired. She was so hyper today it was no surprised she crashed early.

"Sarafina," Her mother called, "Come on, sweety. It's getting late."

Sarafina looked over to her mother, who was waiting by the den, and she yawned before answering, "Okay mom."

"See you tomorrow?" I asked before she left.

"Of course," She replied, with a smile. Sarafina followed her mother. I wasn't even tired yet so I didn't feel like going to bed. I sat there just thinking to myself. I thought about what I would do tomorrow and the next day. I was alone and there was no noise, except for the few bugs. Soon my mind went blank and I completely zoned out as if I was in my own perfect world where nothing worried me and there was no need to even think. I was soon pulled out of my blank thoughts when I heard some one behind me. I was suddenly alert when I spun my head around and saw Mufasa. He was walking towards me, trying to be quiet.

"Sorry. Did I scare you?" He asked.

"No, not really. Aren't you tired?" I replied. Mufasa had spent a whole day of training I was sure he would enjoy some good rest but he stood before me, eyes wide open and awake.

"Not really," Mufasa said, "Where's Sarafina?"

"She was really tired so her mother called her to bed," I answered him. Mufasa sat down next to me. I had to admit I was a bit nervous when I was alone with him. I barely knew him and I didn't have much to talk about.

"Did Taka go to bed?" Mufasa asked.

"I honestly don't know. I haven't seen him in a while," I said. I couldn't help but notice how disappointed Mufasa looked when I answered him. He sat there moving around the dirt under his paw. Not knowing what else to say or do, I watched him and I saw how much bigger his paws were than mine. I sighed and looked out at the night sky. "You want to hang out? I know it's late but you've been training all day. You should have some fun," I asked him. Mufasa smiled at me and quickly replied, "Sure!"

We started down Pride Rock together. Some adults were still awake so I was sure it was fine that we were heading out at night.

"So..." Mufasa said, trying to start a conversation, "You want to be leader of the hunting party?"

"Yep," I replied. I had always wanted to become a great huntress. My mother was the leader, and so was her mother.

"Well, then I guess you're pretty fast and you wouldn't mind...racing me...?" Mufasa asked. I grinned at him and happily accepted his challenge.

"You're so on. Ready.....Go!" I shouted, taking off. I was in the lead for a while but Mufasa was coming up close to me. I could hear the pounding of his large paws. My heart was all ready racing, I loved a challenge. We raced to the plains. The tall grass gently brushed against my legs as I ran. I kept in mind how much fun it would be to be able to tease the prince about that one time when I beat him. I was already smiling big. Some wandering antelope noticed us and moved out of the way, clearing the straight path to my win. I was feeling so confident I decided to look behind me. I turned my head and saw Mufasa. He winked at me then shot past me. I tried to speed up but he was just a bit ahead of me.

"Where are we racing to??" I asked him, following close behind.

"To the waterhole!" Mufasa replied. I looked past Mufasa to see the waterhole in the near distance. I took in a deep breath and increased my speed. This must have been the fastest I have ever ran before and yet I was still loosing. It was too late. Mufasa was going to reach the waterhole before I did so I decided to just jump it. I leaped at Mufasa and as soon as his paw touched the edge of the water hole. I managed to knock him down but he quickly grabbed me as he rolled into the water. I pushed my head up out of the water and laughed. Mufasa came up, laughed too. I quickly got back on land and shook myself dry. Mufasa did the same, shaking the water all on me making me have to dry myself again.

"Hey...Mufasa. Did you that your brother....well, he really..." I trailed off. I don't know why I decided to bring Taka into the conversation but I did and it was too late. Just the thought about the talk I had with him today was enough to make me mention it to Mufasa.

"What about Taka?" He asked. Mufasa gave me stare but I couldn't seem to get any words out of my mouth. What was the best way to tell him his brother wanted to be king instead him? Just then someone interrupted us.

"What are you guys doing?" The voice asked. Mufasa and I turned to see who it was. I was surprised to see Taka standing there. I was extremely embarrassed and was hoping that he did not hear me talking about him. Taka slowly walked towards and looked at his older brother. Mufasa gave Taka a heart warming smile but it seemed to have no affect on Taka. Taka then turned to see me. I felt a lump in my throat, where my words got stuck, when I tried to talk.

"Nothing, just taking a walk," Mufasa explained for me. Taka seemed, again, upset over something.

"Well, I better go then," Taka sighed. He got and walked away. Mufasa looked at me. We locked eyes for an instant before he ran after his brother. Mufasa sprinted after Taka, and stood in front of Taka to block his path. The brothers exchanged serious looks for a moment then smiled.

"You can hang out with us too, Taka," Mufasa said. I watched as Taka smiled. Mufasa got into his pouncing position and Taka did the same. The two brothers pounced at each other, laughing. They wrestled each other to the ground then looked up at me. This was what I liked seeing.I always thought those boys were weird but I loved seeing them get a long. Mufasa and Taka took a moment away from each other to chase after me. It took me a second to realize that they were heading straight for me. Out of reaction I screamed at them, "No! Stop!" and I took off in the other direction. I turned around again and laughed, "This isn't fair! It's two against one!"

Mufasa and Taka still chased after me, laughing the whole way. When I looked back I couldn't help but notice that Mufasa was a little bit ahead of his brother and seemed more determined to catch me. I kept my attention to the distance between me and them. Suddenly they froze. Mufasa's mouth dropped open as he looked up at something. I cocked my head to the left at him, not knowing he was looking at something in front of me. I was still running full speed when I hit something hard, furry, and bony. I looked up to see a hyena, staring down at me with large eyes. The hyena opened its mouth. I was too scared to move. I watched as the drool dripped from the hyena's jaws. "Sarabi, run!" I heard Mufasa yell. I was suddenly shocked back into reality. I bolted away from the hyena, but I was sure it was right behind me. I heard it getting closer, and closer. Mufasa and Taka ran with me. I didn't dare to look back. I knew if I stared into that hyena's eyes I would be frozen in fear. I was