*Rayna's Great Story*
As the moon rose in the sky, Akela finished his nightly story. Rayna and the wolves burst into applause. They loved hearing Akela's stories. He is the best storyteller in the pack. One of the cubs hopped up and down in excitement.
"Akela, please!" He begged, wagging his tail. "Can't you tell us one more story?"
"Yeah! Tell us a spooky one!" Another said. Akela laughed at the cubs.
"Not tonight. It's past of your bedtimes." He told them. The cubs sighed in disappointment and turned away to return to their families around the den. Rayna's brothers left the council rock, but Rayna stayed behind with Akela. "Aren't you going to your den, Rayna?" Akela asked.
"But I'm not tired." Rayna said, climbing on the rock to sit next to Akela. "You still don't disappoint about telling stories." Akela chuckled a bit.
"You too have a great story."
"Still, yours I enjoy. Especially the one about you and my father." Rayna said. Akela frowned a bit. He remembered telling her and the wolves about the time when he and Rama hunted the buffalo together when they were young. How Rayna and her family missed Rama. The most loyal in the wolf pack. One of Akela's closest friends. "Someday when we go out to hunt, I would catch the buffalo with you." Rayna said.
"But you must allow me to pick which is the right one to catch. I cannot let my pack be in danger with the big ones. When I was young, I tried to catch the big one and it didn't turn out the way I had hoped. I almost broke my leg." Akela told her. Rayna cringed a little. "Best you get some sleep, Rayna. Another day tomorrow." Rayna got on her feet and stretched her arms out.
"Alright. Goodnight, Akela. See you in the morning." She said before walking away. Akela looked up at the full moon with a content smile on his face.
The next day, Rayna and her wolf brothers are spending time together in the jungle. They are having a race to the river. Rayna used the trees and vines to get ahead. She swung on the vine and let go as the river is below her. She made a big splash. Grey and his brothers made it to the river and see Rayna pop her head out of the water.
"How was it?" Scout asked.
"Feels great! Jump in!" Rayna said as she threw her shoes at the shore. Before the wolves could respond, Bagheera appeared along with Tailsy.
"You guys! Didn't you hear?" Tailsy asked.
"Hear what?" Onyx wondered after he took a drink from the river.
"In three sunsets, there will be a jungle story contest." Bagheera told the wolves and Rayna.
"Contest?" Grey asked.
"It's a chance for the jungle animals to gather and share their best stories." Tailsy explained. Rayna got out of the river in excitement.
"Sounds great! I should convince Akela to enter."
"Not this time, Rayna." Akela's voice responded. He appeared to greet everyone. "It is about time you all learned how to tell stories of your own."
"Well, everyone knows Rayna's story. That one will be too easy to win." Roan spoke. Rayna can't argue with her brothers about that. She needs to come up with a different story. Now that will be a challenge. Time to think of a story since she had three days.
XX
Soon word of the contest spread through the jungle. Everywhere Rayna looked, she saw animals practicing their tales. Tailsy was practicing his story along with the young monkey. Grey and his brothers are thinking of one. Rayna had to think of what her story should be. It had to be mysterious, funny, scary, and full of adventure. Rayna was thinking while she was making a spear as the animals around her are practicing their stories. Bagheera walked over to see Rayna making her weapon.
"Rayna, aren't you going to enter the contest in three sunsets?" He asked.
"I am, but I couldn't think of anything." Rayna says as she sharpens the end of the spear. "I can't tell my story of last year. It would be too easy. I want to find a good story to tell. Something different."
"Hmm. Let's take a walk around and you could find something. This jungle helped you find a story. We could do it again." Bagheera said with a smile. Rayna got up and followed Bagheera with a spear hanging on her back with a vine.
They walked through the jungle and listened to the sounds around them. Rayna looked up to see a woodpecker tapping on the tree. But it didn't sound like the good story to tell. The turtles are paddling in the water. Rayna can't think of anything. Rayna picked up a rock and throw it in the water. Bagheera could sense she is struggling.
"Like a tree waiting to blossom, you must have patience." He told her. "Keep looking and listening." Rayna sighed and continued to walk through the jungle. Bagheera sighed to himself as he watched the girl. "Here I thought she won't have a problem coming up with a good story. Oh, if only Baloo were here to help her, but he had to snooze at places where he shouldn't when we need him. I can't believe I said that." The panther groaned and followed Rayna.
On the day of the contest, animals gathered around the rock as Bagheera is announcing the beginning of the contest. Rayna sat on the log in silent as the animals cheer in excitement. Rayna still couldn't come up with the story. She thought she could just sit back and support her brothers and friends. Then again, she wanted to tell the great story.
Grey and his brothers came up first. They were telling a spooky story as the cubs listened intently. Grey was using his spooky voice, and his brothers made the cubs jump at the scary parts. Tailsy and the monkey are telling a silly story about the banana and the prickly pear. The animals laughed until their stomachs ache. Rayna watched and listened to each story, and she had to admit, they are all told well. As the contest continues, Rayna is growing nervous when her turn is coming up soon after the owl's. Suddenly, she hears a strange noise coming from the jungle.
"Chk-chk-chk-chkiii!" That is the sound Rayna never heard before. She sneaks away from the contest to find out what the sound was. Maybe it will lead her to the story she was looking for.
Bagheera chuckled at the owl's story. Before he could announce that Rayna is next, someone appeared from above the tree. It was Kaa. He had been watching the contest from above. To him, this is a feast. The animals gasped.
"Kaa? What are you doing here?" Bagheera asked with a look.
"Who invited you to be here?" Scout asked.
"I, too, have a sssstory to tell." Kaa spoke as his eyes spiral. One by one, the animals are caught in Kaa's trance. Except for Tailsy. He snuck away to find Rayna for help. Kaa chuckled to himself. "You are all under my ssspell. And Rayna will be next!"
XX
"Chk-chk-chk-chkiii" Rayna had been following the strange noise as it gets louder and louder. It was coming from beneath the rock! Rayna lifted the rock and found a bug. A clicking beetle. Rayna groaned in disappointment. She moved the beetle away and put the rock back down. A boring story to tell.
"That was a waste of time." She said.
"Rayna!" Tailsy called from behind. Rayna turned to see her little friend. But he looks scared.
"Tailsy? What's wrong?"
"Kaa is hypnotizing everyone in the contest!" Tailsy told her, pointing behind him. Rayna's eyes widened. Now that is unexpected to hear.
Pushing her way through a bush, Rayna could see the animals are completely still and hypnotized. Rayna looked toward the stage, Kaa was hanging down from a tree hypnotizing Bagheera. Rayna knew she had to act fast.
"I can't approach Kaa face to face. He'll put me under his spell too." Rayna said to herself.
"What do we do? He looks hungry." Tailsy asked. Rayna started to think and looked up at the tree where Kaa is hanging. She got an idea. She told Tailsy to stay hidden and quiet while she snuck up the tree. Rayna climbed up the tree and twisted a vine around Kaa's coils. Tailsy made a smile as he watched her. Rayna jumped down the tree and rustling the leaves.
"What was that?" Kaa yelled, whipping his head around. He spotted Rayna holding a vine. "Girl-cub." He hissed.
"Hello." Rayna greet and pulled onto the vine and Kaa was tugged in the opposite direction and snapped him back. His head smacked right into the tree. "Ohhh! My ssssinusssesss!" He yelped. He glared at Rayna. "You and your tricksss!" He hissed. Rayna smirked at this. She and Tailsy started to clap to snap everyone out of their hypnosis. Bagheera shook his head.
"Wha...? What's happened?" He asked.
"Kaa!" Tailsy said as he pointed at the trapped python.
"Kaa?" Grey turned to him and growled along with his brothers. Bagheera sneered at Kaa, slowly approaching him. Kaa chuckled nervously at him.
"Bagheera, it'ssss not what you think! I...I was jussst leaving." He said. Kaa tried to slither away, but he was still tangled in the vine. With one last tug, his coils snapped free, and he got twisted up like a pretzel! The animals begin to laugh at him. Rayna laughed too.
"Oh, this is even better!" She giggled. Kaa gave her and the animals a glare before squirming away into the jungle. His coils will be so sore. At last, Rayna found a story.
Rayna got on the rock and began her story. It was mysterious, funny, scary, and full of adventure. Bagheera felt happy for her. The animals are in awe by her story. This is what Rayna needed to win the contest. All it needs is an enemy.
XX
Kaa groaned as he tried to stretch his coils. It took him a while to get untangled from a vine. So much for a big feast at the contest and Rayna was saved as dessert. The python hissed to himself.
"Wait till I get my coilsss around that girl-cub! And we shall sssee if she findsss it funny when she ends up in my sssstomach!" He said to himself. He groans as he tried to slither up to the tree. "Now the jungle will be laughing at me..."
*Based on Mowgli's Great Story*