dreams with warmth and gladness as each imagined what life would be like if the lovely girl could be theirs.
So virtuous was she that those who came near her formed a feverish desire to become her equal, for it was widely known that only a companion as beautiful and as unique as she would make a good match. This was the cause of many a man’s heartbreak. You see, their hope was ephemeral. Most of those who sought her hand in marriage couldn’t even dream of coming close to that level of perfection.
They imagined that if she was a little less than flawless, a little more swayed by a handsome form and face, or, perhaps, a little more willing to compromise her virtue, they might persuade her to select a husband based on a moment of passion. Alas, she was not won so easily. When it was determined that the time had come for her to marry, her father, the king, sought the bravest, most stalwart, and worthiest companion to be her mate.
Tia had said nothing during this time, though I could tell she was listening, too, scrutinizing every word Nebu said. “Please, go on,” I encouraged.
Men came forward from great distances. They were princes and peasants. Knights and knaves. Servants and slaves. Their various stations, riches, and fine figures didn’t matter, for the girl concerned herself only with what they carried on the inside. Every suitor was brought before the princess, and she took the hand of each man, staring into his eyes and through his soul. She never encouraged or denied any of them, but still, one by one, they left, unhappily accepting the fact that she would never belong to them.
“How did they know they weren’t the one?”
When she looked into their hearts, they flinched, he said. They could not endure her gaze. It was like staring into the face of a goddess and having every sin and secret revealed. They were unworthy and there was no denying it.
“Then what happened?”
When all the would-be suitors had come forward and there was no one left to try, the princess despaired of loneliness. She feared there would never be one like her and she was destined to continue her mortal sojourn alone. One day she was in the forest, dipping her feet in a cool pond, when a lion happened upon her.
He, too, fell hopelessly in love with the girl. The lion came forward and begged her to let him stay by her side. Though she was frightened, she looked into the lion’s heart and found no malice there.
You see, a lion is not greedy, envious, drunk on his own power, or selfish. He is an animal, and his actions are based on instinct and survival. As she looked into his heart, she realized that here, finally, was a match who would prove to be her equal.
“So she, what? Took him home to meet Dad?” Both Tia and Nebu bristled at my blasé observation regarding the fairy tale that the two of them obviously took very seriously. “Forgive me,” I apologized. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
When the king met his daughter at the postern and found her accompanied by a lion, he was surprised, to say the least. He’d never expected a lion to become the heir to the throne.
“Wait a minute. So the lion was actually going to marry the girl?”
Yes. The king had promised his daughter to the one who proved worthy of her.
In my head, I asked Tia, Is that how the lion became known as the King of Beasts?
She snorted derisively. Lions do not need the help of human royalty to be branded with that title. We are majestic predators with no equal. However, there may be some evidence that this story is how humans came to recognize lions in such a way.
Nebu continued. Since the girl was suffering from loneliness, her father, the king, agreed to the idea of a spring wedding. The princess and the lion spent all their time together through the summer, fall, and winter, but there was a downside to being betrothed to a lion.
“Only one?” I smiled.
Tia didn’t appreciate my comment.
The young maiden was used to being surrounded by people clamoring for her attention. With a lion nearby, the citizens of her kingdom, even those who professed a deep and abiding love for the princess, wouldn’t risk the lion’s wrath to approach her. The lion didn’t see anything wrong with this. In fact, he preferred to keep her all