How the Lion Got Its Mane
By: Heather Gilmore
Long ago lions had no mane and grey fur. Squirrels had long fur and were a golden yellow color. Squirrel and lion were long time rivals and one day decided to have a contest if Lion won the he would get Squirrel's long hair and color, but if Squirrel won the Squirrel would become king of the jungle. The contest would be to complete three given by Wolf, Raven, and Fox each task would be related to each of the task givers. It was time for the first task do Lion and Squirrel set off to find wolf to start their first task. At Wolf's den Wolf instructed them that their first task would be to find a cave for him and his family for the winter. Squirrel immediately knew the perfect place it was the cave Squirrel used to store his nuts for the winter. Squirrel came back and led Wolf to the cave saying that he could stay here, Lion couldn't find anything so Squirrel won the first task, Wolf then sent them off to see Raven for their second task. Once at Raven's nest, Raven informed them that their second task would be to collect berries. Who ever collected the most would win the second task. Even though Squirrel was used to collecting nuts, Lion was a faster and sharper hunter so he gathered a lot more berries than Squirrel therefore, he was granted victory of the second task. Raven then sent the two to Fox's den for their final task. The two then ran all the way to Fox's den. Once there, Fox told them that their final task would be to race to the big tree in the middle of the jungle. The first one there would win the contest and be awarded their prize. Lion and Squirrel raced as fast as they could but Lion being stronger and faster got to the tree first and there waiting was The Chief of the Rockature tribe. The Chief informed Lion that he had won the contest, he waved his staff and Squirrel's long hair was stripped and appeared around Lion's neck. Then Lion's fur turned golden yellow and Squirrel's turned grey and THAT is how the lion got its mane.
The End