In a distant forest, in the middle of the night, all the animals such as rabbits, squirrels, owls, foxes and others were sleeping peacefully in an atmosphere of peace and silence (with the exception of the owls).

But, out of nowhere, the barking of some dogs alerted the poor ears of the forest inhabitants, as they suffered every year from attacks by these dogs on their human masters. Soon, the animals were running for their lives, while the hunters shot any animals they could. Among the animals that escaped, a doe and her two fawns passed in front of the sight of a hunter, who did not hesitate to aim his rifle.

However, before he shot, a male deer intervened with an attack with all of his antlers, making him miss the shot and stabbing one of its antlers into his arm. Once the damage was done, he started running because there were too many hunters in the surrounding area.

"Run Faline!" the male shouted, running through the trees; his plan was to distract the hunters so that his family and the rest of the forest's inhabitants could escape.

The doe obeyed without question and ran alongside her little fawns, while her partner did his work. She ran and ran without stopping, following the other animals, jumping stones and streams and avoiding trees in her path. Arriving at a stream, some arrows almost fell on him, but he was able to dodge them and push his fawns to avoid being shot too.

Before she could continue her escape, some hunting dogs intercepted him and went for the fawns, but her mother stood in the way and kept them at bay with her paws, since she did not have antlers like her partner.

"Geno! Gurri!" her mother told them, "Run!"

At first, both fawns did not want to abandon their mother, but the barking of more hunting dogs scared them and they ran non-stop after the other animals. Even though their paws were barely used to running, they were born for it and soon the barking began to disappear... but the bad thing was that they strayed from the path that the other inhabitants of the forest had taken. By the time they realized it, they had reached a ravine and when they tried to turn around, they saw a group of four hunting dogs, growling at them and ready to catch them.

While the male fawn stood up to defend his sister, she retreated in fear. When she put a paw on the edge of it, it broke and she fell into the river below. Seeing that, her brother also jumped in to try to reach her. By the time the dog masters arrived, they didn't find a soul in the river.

(Meanwhile, at the Pride Lands...)

The Pride Lands were completely quiet and most of its inhabitants were also asleep, waiting for the next day. Inside the Pride Rock cave, the pride of lions slept peacefully. Dan, who at that time was still a cub, was sleeping smilingly next to his new family, with his new parents and little brother, waiting to get up again to contemplate the always beautiful sunrise.

However, at a moment during his peaceful sleep, a strange dream appeared in his mind: it was not a nightmare, nor was it a premonition...

It was an afternoon in the Pride Lands and he could see his body moving on its own, searching for someone around the Pride Rock. For a minute, he swore he heard voices and, when he found the source, he hid behind a rock. Peeking out to see, he found an adult lion with a dark reddish mane, with green eyes; The other was a tall animal with long legs and hooves, but what distinguished him most were the long antlers on his head.

"Thank you very much for your help, Your Majesty, my kingdom is safe with your support," said the second animal.

"It's nothing," the lion responded, "When it comes to respecting the cycle of life, we animals must unite. But... I fear that the scavengers we have here may learn of the existence of your kingdom and endanger many lives. The best thing will be that our history is forgotten."

"We will do it too, but if at any time you need us, just ask."

"I'm wondering the same. Furthermore, I have a feeling that, at some point in our lives, future generations will revive our union."

"Nothing would fill me with more joy, until then, King of the Pride Lands."

"See you soon, Great Prince of the Forest."

As he watched the tall animal leave, his entire vision began to spin and he woke up to find that nothing strange had happened in his current life. However, as he closed his eyes to sleep again, he couldn't wonder if something related to this vision was going to happen.

(Later...)

After waking up and contemplating the usual sunrise, Dan met with his friends: Shany, Akira and Jabari, ready to start the day with racing games (in which Shany won) and others such as friendly fights (in which there were draws between Dan and Jabari). As the midday sun moved, they gathered under Rafiki's tree, listening attentively to the latter's wise stories. Next to him was his apprentice, Rahisi.

"…and so, Kion and his lion guard ran towards the terrifying Zimwi…" Rafiki recounted, "Only to realize that they were a pair of porcupines with their quills stuck together… Now, what? What lesson can be learned from this story?

"Me, me!" Jabari raised his paw, "That, if you are a porcupine, you should not cling so much to another…"

This raised a cloud of laughter at the joke, at which Rafiki laughed louder than the cubs. When he finished, Rafiki (still smiling from the joke) asked again:

"Besides that, did anyone learn anything?"

Shany lifted her paw.

"That we should not be afraid," she said, "We can be afraid of something that is not what it looks like and can be much more like us."

As she said it, Rafiki shifted his gaze from Shany to Dan, knowing that she was saying it for him. Anyway, he responded:

"Very smart Shany," he said as he sat back down, "Well, I think that's all for today…"

"No…please…" Akira begged, "One more story, please."

"Yes, please," Jabari followed, "One we had never heard before."

"Umm… well…" Rafiki wondered, scratching his beard, "I don't know what it could be…"

Dan debated inside him and, intrigued by the dream he had earlier, asked:

"Rafiki... do you know anything about a prince of a forest?"

All the cubs and the young apprentice looked at him with intrigue, since they had just learned that term. For his part, Rafiki seemed only surprised, as if he knew what he was talking about, but he didn't know how he knew that.

"Umm… the forest…" he said, as if speaking to himself, "As you may know, the Pride Lands constantly change as the seasons change: the rainy season and the dry season… which they are winter and summer, do you understand?"

Everyone in the group nodded. Continuing, Rafiki took a fruit (which he had next to him), ate it and after he was ready, pointed to a large mountain in the distance.

"Well, I learned from the previous Mjuzi that, behind that snowy mountain, crossing a cloudy and wooded path, there is another kingdom," he told them, "A colorful kingdom where green is the color that is most visible, from its small bushes even large pines. During the hot season, the rains fill fresh and pure streams, while in the cold season they freeze until they are hard and the trees are covered in white. Many small animals live there, and sometimes large ones. And, as with the Pride Lands, the Forest Kingdom has its own ruler."

"Is there another king?" Akira asked.

"He is known as the Great Prince of the Forest, actually," the mandril explained, placing his staff on Dan's chest, "And, just like the king of the Pride Lands, his duty is to keep the inhabitants of his kingdom safe."

That hit home deep with Dan; Well, at that time, he carried the position of 'Prince of the Pride Lands'. Noticing his concern, Rafiki placed a hand on his head.

"Don't be afraid, everything will come in his time," he told him, making her feel better.

While they were talking, Kiara and Kovu arrived at the location. Under Kiara's paws, was Koda, who was growing quite quickly.

"Brother!" The cub launched after Dan. Knowing that he only wanted to play, he let himself lie down.

"Hehehe... hello Koda" Dan laughed.

"Wow, Koda seems to like you too much," Shany laughed.

"I'm happy to see this gesture of unity between brothers" commented Kiara, "They are more unite than me and Kion"

"I think they are as close as you are," Kovu told him. Then, he turned to the lion cubs. "How are you doing with Rafiki's stories?"

"Rafiki was telling us a story from the kingdom of…" Dan began to say.

However, before he continued, Vitani and her group of lionesses from the lion guard passed very close by, seeming to be in a hurry about something.

"Vitani," Kovu said, "What's wrong?"

"An elephant is stuck in the mud pits, brother," Vitani explained.

"Yes, and it will be very hard to get him out of there…" Kasi mentioned.

Since they had no time to waste, the lion guard rushed to the spot. While, realizing that Koda was yawning (it was normal for him, since she had not yet grown enough) Kiara picked him up in her mouth.

"Looks like he got tired of playing," Kovu mentioned, "We'll go back to Pride Rock so he can sleep a little more... Oh, and don't come back late, Dan."

"Yes, Dad," replied Dan, who had already gotten used to calling him that.