Until the lion learns to write, every story will glorify the hunter

30/07/2025

Until the lion learns to write, every story will glorify the hunter

EVERY DAY, a lion climbed the only rock in the jungle that allowed him to oversee all the animals. This rock was his alone, and no one dared to climb it, out of fear and respect for the king of the jungle. There was a careless jackal whose sole task was to watch the lion. One day, the jackal decided to take the lion’s place on the rock. He succeeded, but the animals saw that the jackal’s behavior was reckless and over the line. However, they didn’t mind, after all, he was just a “chicken thief.”

When the lion arrived, he looked at the jackal but said nothing. “I should not lower myself to his level”, the lion thought. The jackal didn’t stop there. He mocked the lion, saying, “I see you stayed at the bottom today and didn’t climb the rock.” The king of the jungle replied calmly, “Listen, jackal, whether I climb a rock, a tree, or stay on the ground, the whole jungle knows I am a lion. But no matter how high or low you climb, you will always remain a jackal, a mere chicken thief.” The lesson is that people know who you truly are and where you come from. A chicken thief will always be exposed.

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Killing a tiger is a sport.
When a man kills a tiger, it is called a hobby, but when a tiger kills a man, it is called barbarism. With this biting remark, George Bernard Shaw sheds a sarcastic light on the hypocrisy of morals shaped by human selfishness. People don’t care about the tiger, as they care about the power dynamic cloaked in a mask of morality. Killing becomes a “sport” as long as the killer is human, while the same act is branded murder if done by an animal.

In this context, man isn’t hunting for survival but for pleasure. It is sadism disguised with soft labels like “hobby” and “sport.” Bernard Shaw isn’t really talking about tigers but he is talking about us. We all have a habit of wrapping crimes in “gift” paper. We call the invasion of another nation a liberation and the killing of innocent people self-defense. We accuse those without a megaphone. Unfortunately, the tiger hasn’t mastered public relations or polished its image in the media. So, the tiger is killed twice - once by bullets, and then by words.

Maybe the latest ethical trend is to apologize after the killing, preferably on camera. As an African proverb says, “Until the lion learns how to write, every story will glorify the hunter.” The donkey asked the lion, “Aren’t you the king of the jungle?” The lion replied, “Yes, what’s wrong?” The donkey said, “The tiger keeps beating me every time he sees me after asking why I am not wearing a hat. But I don’t understand. What hat should I be wearing? And why does he keep beating me?”

The lion said he would talk to the tiger. When they met, the lion asked the tiger about the hat. The tiger replied, “That was just an excuse to beat the donkey.” The king of the jungle said, “You should have found a good reason. For example, ask the donkey to bring you an apple. If he brings a yellow apple, slap him and ask why he didn’t bring a red one. If he brings a red apple, slap him and ask why he didn’t bring a yellow one... and so on.” The next day, the tiger asked the donkey to bring him an apple. The donkey returned with two apples, one red and one yellow. The tiger muttered, “Where’s the hat?” and slapped the donkey again!