First he addressed the anteater. “Anteater, why did you eat the ant’s eggs?”
“Well,” the anteater replied, “I am an anteater. I was only doing what came naturally, what
anteaters do. What other alternative was there for me when the ant spread her eggs so temptingly in
front of me?”
Turning to the ant, the lion asked, “Ant, why did you spread your eggs where they might tempt
the anteater?”
“It was not my intent to tempt the anteater. Surely you can see I am a better mother than that,
but what else could I do to care for my young?” replied the ant. “They got wet in the heavy deluge
of rain. They needed to dry out when the sun shone so warmly.”
Looking to the sun, the lion continued his investigation. “Sun, why did you shine?”
“What else could I do?” asked the sun. “It is my job. The rain had poured and, as everyone
knows, the sun must follow the rain.”
“Rain, why did you pour?” asked the lion in his search to unravel the truth.
“What else could I do?” responded the rain. “The sorcerer’s hut was on fire, the whole village
was under threat. I only wanted to help.”
“Hut, why did you catch on fire?”
“I couldn’t do anything else once the tortoise excreted fire on me,” answered the charred rem-
nants of the sorcerer’s hut. “I was made of grass. I had stood there for years. I was very dry and had
no resistance.”
“Tortoise,” inquired the king of beasts, “why did you excrete fire?”
“It was the only thing I could do. The elephant stood on me. With her weight, my life was
threatened. I had to do something to try and escape.”
The lion looked up at the elephant. “Tell me, elephant, why did you tread on the tortoise?”
“What else was there to do?” asked the elephant. “She danced so wildly. Her behavior was most
unbecoming and inappropriate for a tortoise. I thought she had gone crazy or something. I didn’t in-
tend to hurt her. I just wanted to help settle her wild mood.”
The lion turned back to the tortoise. “Why was it you were dancing so wildly?”
“What else could I do?” responded the tortoise. “The sorcerer was beating out such rhythmic
and compelling dance music on his drum, I had no choice. I just had to dance.”
“Sorcerer, why were you beating your drum?”
The sorcerer answered, “What else was there for me to do when the snake entered my hut? She
frightened me. She was dangerous. Serpents are the representations of evil forces and bad omens. I
had to chase its evil presence out of my home.”
“Snake,” inquired the king of beasts, patiently working his way through the line of witnesses,
“why did you enter the sorcerer’s hut?”
“What else could I do?” answered the snake. “The fly embarrassed me with its words of praise.
Somehow, somewhere I had to hide my face, and the grass hut of the sorcerer was the closest refuge.”
Finally the lion, lord of jungle justice, turned to the fly and asked, “Fly, why did you praise the
snake?”
The fly did not address the king of beasts but instead turned to look at the snake and asked,
“What, don’t you know how to take a compliment?”
CARING FOR YOUCaring for Yourself 73