"Pinned ya!" Nala declared, pinning Simba down for the fifth time that afternoon. They were having a peaceful time beside the water hole, and it didn't seem like anything was going to go wrong today. That was a nice change.

Normally, Simba and Nala spent their days trying to protect the Pride Lands from the latest maniac. Their parents always seemed none the wiser to any of this. Why couldn't they sort out a problem like that for once? Instead it was up to she and Simba. They could be doing better things, like what they were doing right now!

"That's the fifth time!" Simba exclaimed in disbelief. "Don't you ever get tired? Or are you cheating?"

She giggled. "Simba, how could I be cheating? It's impossib le to cheat at this game. It's all about strength, and determination, and… lots of other important things which I'm too tired to mention right now. The point is this: you can't cheat at Pinned Ya!"

"All right, then let's make up another game we can play," Simba suggested, his eyes glinting with mischief.

"Okay. What did you have in mind?" Nala asked, wondering what kind of game Simba would come up with. She knew nothing would ever be able to top Pinned Ya! It was the best game in the world. Although sometimes she wondered if she only thought that because she was the master at it…

"Hmm…" Simba put a paw to his chin and thought for a moment. "How about… Tickled Ya!"

Nala was taken by surprise when Simba started to tickle her on her stomach. Oh, no… not there. Not on the stomach. Anything but that! That was the most ticklish spot on her body!

Nala started to laugh loudly, trying to wriggle away from Simba. As soon as Simba started tickling her there, she knew there was no way out. Once she started laughing, she couldn't stop.

"I think this a game I could get used to," Simba teased as he continued to tickle her. "What do you think, Nala? Is this a good game or what?"

"N-no!" Nala cried through laughter. "It's a t-terrible g-game! Why d-don't we s-stop and p-play something e-else?"

"Nah. I think it's kind of fun," he replied, smiling as Nala continued to laugh. "I like it when I win. Now I know how you feel when you pin me all the time."

"H-how long are you going to do this for?" she asked, wondering how long Simba would continue to torture her like this.

"Well, let's see. You pinned me five times, so I'll tickle you for… five minutes," Simba answered.

"What?" Nala squealed. "That's not fair!"

"Oh, all right then. Five hours. Is that fair enough for you?" He was loving every second of this. This would teach Nala never to pin him again! Now he was in control!

Not for long, though. Using the strength she still had, Nala pushed Simba as hard as he could, sending him flying into the water hole with a big splash! Nala breathed a sigh of relief, and collapsed onto her back, exhausted. "I'm glad that's over with!"

Simba emerged from the water, laughing. "Okay, that was pretty funny!" he exclaimed, finding the whole situation hilarious. He didn't expect that from Nala, but that only seemed to add to the funniness. "Right, Nala?"

Simba turned his head to look at Nala, and saw that she had fallen asleep. Simba shrugged as he swam over to the edge of the water hole. I guess all that tickling took a lot out of her, he thought, clambering onto dry land. He shook himself dry, and was about to wake Nala up when he heard a sound. A sound he didn't really expect to hear.

Crying. He could hear crying coming from somewhere nearby. Someone was crying, and they certainly didn't mind other people hearing it. Especially at that volume.

Simba narrowed his eyes. Why would someone be crying so loud? Most of the time, when people cried they tried to keep it all to themselves. They tried to be as quiet as possible. When he cried, Simba didn't particularly like other people hearing. He preferred to find a quiet spot to drown in his sorrows.

But whoever was crying right now was doing it really loudly. Simba was beginning to think that it was affecting his hearing.

Just who is that? Simba asked himself. It doesn't sound like anyone I know, he concluded. A few seconds later, a sly smile spread across his face. But mayb e I should find out. And then mayb e I can find a way to make them stop crying.

Simba looked over at Nala, and decided to give her a little rest. He'd go off on a little adventure of his own while she slept. She wouldn't even know he was gone. Plus, he'd have a story to tell her later. It would be one of those made-up stories Simba always told her, where he was the brave hero. Of course, Nala didn't believe any of those stories, but they still managed to entertain her.

Simba wandered off in the direction of the crying, which seemed to be coming from a rocky field in the distance. The sobs and cries echoed throughout the Pride Lands, and Simba was surprised that no one else had decided to investigate. Either everyone else was just being lazy, or Simba was going crazy. He preferred the former. Then again, a little part of his personality contained a bit of craziness…

Simba kept following the cries, which got louder and louder as he got closer and closer to the rocky field. There wasn't all that much to see. Just a lot of big rocks, and a lot of dirt, too. There were a few mud puddles around here he wouldn't mind getting dirty in…

But that could wait until later. He had a job to do. A secret mission. He had to find out where those cries were coming from.

Simba hopped on top of a large boulder, and surveyed his surroundings. He spotted a small cluster of rocks, and smiled. That was where the crying was coming from. It had to be coming from there!

Simba hopped from the boulder and over to the cluster of rocks. He hopped on top of a large one, and saw something really, really odd.

In amongst some small rocks, was the small, innocent body of a baby cub.