The moon glowed over the desert sand. A female lioness lay in the sand. She grimaced in pain. Her swollen stomach was a sign to any lion or lioness that she was in labor. A small brown cub slid out onto the sand. The lioness carefully moved her cub toward her and weakly groomed her. Another cub slid out and she moved it toward her. When she started to groom the cub she realized it was dead. She took a few deep breaths, no longer being in labor, and moved the cub near her stomach. The cub mewed feebly and started to feed. The lioness smiled and lay her head down.
"Who are you?"
The lioness, startled, looked around. She spotted a male lion a few feet away. The lion padded toward her and loomed over her.
"My name is Zuri. I have traveled very far and will not be going any farther in my journey. Please take my cub."
The male moved his head to look at the cub. The cub stopped feeding and looked up at him. It mewed and twitched its tiny ears. The male smiled.
"I will take care of your cub."
He looked back at Zuri. She didn't reply. He nudged her shoulder with his muzzle, but she didn't move. She had died. The male took pity over the small cub and picked it up. He sighed and headed toward the forest.