Nala hadn't slept well that night. Moving into a new pride, it just made her feel so… nervous. Would she make any friends? Would the other cubs like her? Would anyone like her? Her mind was swimming with all kinds of different questions, questions which she had no answer to.

She only managed a few hours of sleep in the den that the rest of the pride slept in. By the next morning, she opened her eyes, feeling very tired. A huge part of her wanted to go back to sleep. Maybe she'd accidentally fall asleep for the whole day so she didn't have to meet anyone new today.

"You up yet, sleepy-head?" Nala heard her mother ask.

Nala groggily got up, and yawned. "Yes, I'm up, Mom."

"Oh, good. You can go and make some new friends, today."

Nala's eyes widened. Today? Friends? Now? She hadn't even been in the pride twelve hours and her mother already expected her to socialise. Who did Sarafina think she was, the future Queen? She wasn't cut out for this sort of thing.

Nala decided to try and reason with her mother. "Mom, do I have to today? Can't I just stay with you? Just for today?"

Sarafina shook her head in disapproval. "No, no, no, Nala."

"Why not?" she argued.

"Because if I let you stay with me today, you'll ask me the same thing tomorrow."

"I promise I won't, this time," she pleaded. "Please?"

Sarafina gave Nala a disapproving glare. "Nala," she said firmly, which told Nala not to argue with her anymore.

Nala looked down at the ground shyly. "Oh, all right," she grumbled, not liking one bit of this.

Sarafina put her paw under Nala's chin and pushed her head up so she was looking at her. "Nala, you'll be fine. They'll love you."

"How do you know?" Nala asked.

"Your mother knows best," came the warm reply.

Nala managed a smile. "Okay. I'll try."

"Good girl. Be in by sundown, too. And don't wander off."

"Okay, okay, okay," Nala said as she walked off, tired of hearing more rules from her mother.

Nala stood in the opening of her den, looking over the Pride Lands below. The sun shone brightly in the sky, and it was a very hot day. Nala sighed. She was in for a rough day. She could feel it.

Nala took a deep breath, and begun making her way down Pride Rock, ready to meet some new friends.

A few feet away from where Nala was sleeping, another lion cub slept also. This cub was a male, however. He had golden-brown fur, and a small tuft of fur on his head. The cub was clearly in a deep sleep, and was in no mood to wake up anytime soon.

He was going to, though. Whether he liked it or not.

His mother, and Mufasa's mate, Sarabi, nudged the cub gently, waking him up.

"Five more minutes, Mom," he muttered in a half-awake state.

"Simba, it's time to get up," Sarabi told him. "You know what time it is, don't you?"

"Yeah," Simba replied. "Time for me to go back to sleep."

Sarabi couldn't help but chuckle. "No, Simba. Today's the day where you're supposed to go outside and talk with the other cubs. In other words, make some friends."

Simba's eyes snapped open, and widened at what his mother had just said to him. Now? Friends? Today? He hadn't been alive for more than a few weeks and he was already expected to go out and socialise. Who did she think he was, the future King? Oh, wait, he was.

Simba looked up at Sarabi. "Now Mom, we need to talk about this whole 'making friends' thing. The way I see it, you should let me have two or three days to myself before I go out and talk to people."

"You said that three days ago," Sarabi told him.

Simba looked down at the ground. "Oops," he said. I knew I used that trick b efore somewhere…

"Simba, if you don't go out and make some friends soon, you'll never make any friends. That's not going to work well when you're King, now, is it?"

"I guess not…" he muttered.

"Good. Now go on, go out and make some friends."

Simba slowly got to his feet. "Oh, all right. Besides, what's the worst that can happen? If anyone says no to me, then I'll just… banish them when I'm King." He smiled. "Yeah."

His mother gave Simba a disapproving glare. "No, Simba. You have to do it properly. You can't force people to be your friend."

"No, but I can try," he muttered under his breath.

"What was that, young man?"

He smiled innocently. "Oh, nothing. I was just saying how exciting it is to finally be getting out there and making some friends, that's all."

"Well, go on, then. And be in before sundown. And don't wander off, either."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Simba said as he walked off, tired of hearing more rules from his mother.

He stood in the den opening, gazing out beyond the Pride Lands. A sly smile crept across his face. "I don't have to do what she says. I can just go… explore. Yeah." Simba spotted a very dark, gloomy-looking place in the distance, beyond the borders of the Pride Lands. "That shadowy place over there looks good. I wonder what's down there."

Simba started making his way down Pride Rock. He had no plans on making friends today. He was far too scared of rejection. How embarrassing would it be if the future King of the Pride Lands was rejected by every other cub? That wouldn't fare too well in the future.

Sarabi overheard her son speaking about where he was intending to go, and decided to find a way of making Simba do what she told him to.

"Zazu," she called.

Three seconds later, a Red-billed hornbill fluttered down to the ground in front of her, and bowed gracefully. "You called me, Queen Sarabi?"

"Zazu, make sure Simba tries to make some friends today. And keep him out of trouble."

Zazu winced at the mention of Simba. Not Simba! The most mischievous, playful cub who ever lived! He always got himself into trouble!

Zazu decided it would be best to respect the Queen's wishes, however. "As you wish. I will keep the young cub right out of trouble. You can count on that."

And with that Zazu flew off, knowing he was in for a very long day indeed.