The days wore on, and Tanabi became ever more lively, and full of questions. He had formed a particularly close relationship with Timon and Pumbaa, which I saw as a good thing – I could trust them to baby-sit for me and Tanabi wouldn't even object because he enjoyed their company so much. It also kept me free from the three of them, though allowing my son to run around with my two old mates seemed less of a wise move when he became wizened up to my behaviour as a cub.

"C'mon Tani, you gotta eat now, son."

"Aw, but I don't like Zebra. It's yucky."

Surprised? I was too. "Yes, you do. Your mum used to give it you all the time and you never complained."

"Yea…I – er, well, I don't want it today," he said, sticking his nose up in the air.

Exasperated, I said, "C'mon Tani, you have to eat or you'll starve. You don't want that. Right?"

"It's NOT FAIR. You never had to eat what you didn't want."

"Ha! Yes I did. You think I enjoyed some of the stuff Grandma used to make me eat with my liver?!"

"You refused still, she told me. And in the jungle, you ate wriggly bugs. Timon and Pumbaa told me. And I tried one, and I want another one."

"But they're not for you! Besides, wouldn't you much prefer a niiice, juicy zebra innard?!"

"No."

And he sat there til the corpse was almost empty. I pretended to walk off sighing, muttering words about him going hungry, and was secretly rather pleased when I turned round to see him scratching around hungrily in what was left. I also resolved to have more than a little word with Timon and Pumbaa about ideas they were putting into his head!

At length, Tanabi finished and headed back towards Pride Rock, straight at me. I pretended to be looking at the stars, so he wouldn't know I'd been spying on him. He was used to this by now as common practice, and accepted it without question, though this time he stopped and hovered around anxiously.

"Something bothering you, son?"

"Um… Nyeah… no… nah, not really," he finished.

I pulled a face and turned to look at him, "nyeah?"

"Heh," he laughed nervously, "well, I was just wondering Dad."

I smiled, "about what?"

"Well, you spend an awful long time looking at the stars. And I don't understand why. Uncle Timon told me they were just fireflies. What's so interesting about those?"

I rolled my eyes at the mention of Timon. "Son, there are some things you must realise. In the circle of life, though everything has a place, and is important, and has a role to play, to all intents and purposes Timon is an exception to the rule."

He laughed. "But he knows everything!"

"Another thing. The wisest creatures in these lands are the ones that speak the least. Remember that lesson that Grandma taught you?"

"About the monkey and however much he talked, the less he thought?" Tanabi said hopefully.

"Right. Well, in this case, Timon talks… a lot. Right?"

"Right."

"So how much does he think?"

"Er…not very much?" His tiny head was working in overdrive.

"Precisely. So, when he tells you something, does that mean he's always right?"

"I get it!! No, it doesn't!" he paused doubtfully, "but Pumbaa believes everything he says."

"And who's judgement do you trust? Your father's or a warthog's?"

He smiled and cuddled up to me, "You, Dad."

We'd got there in the end.

That night I began to teach him about the great Kings of the past. He listened attentively, and was a quick learner, even if on occasion he seemed relatively slow on the uptake. When I was telling him about Mufasa, he interrupted for the first time.

"Ooh, I've heard all about him. He was a great King, wasn't he? Huh?"

"To me? The greatest," I said wistfully, remembering back to my cubhood when I'd been in his situation and thought the world of my dear father. I wondered if little Tanabi felt the same about me.

"Nah, he's not the greatest," said Tanabi confidently.

"Oh, then who is?"

"Well, there's Aideu for a start," he said, reciting one of his lessons from Nala only recently. I was quite disappointed – I don't mind admitting I'd hoped he'd say 'you, Dad'. I would have been so happy with that. Still, I suppose it showed he had his head screwed on, realising that Aideu was indeed the greatest. He'd continued talking…

"And I think you're great too," he finished, nuzzling against my mane. I lay backwards and placed him on my stomach and held him close.

"I'm glad you think so, and I think the same about you," I whispered, stroking his golden fur pleasantly.

"You'll never leave me, right Dad?"

"Never. I'll always be right here," and I pointed with one paw to his heart, and said, "Mufasa still lives in me, and when I'm not here to hold you, you'll still feel me. To protect you and to guide you, always, I'll be there. I promise."

He lay on my stomach, purring happily and contentedly, before falling into a deep sleep. I loved my little son.