In the heart of the Great Savannah, there lived a lion named Leo. Leo was big, Leo was brave, and Leo had a mane that looked like a giant, golden dandelion. He was great at pouncing, excellent at roaring, and the undisputed champion of "Hide-and-Seek-in-the-Tall-Grass."
But Leo had a secret. He was terrified of heights.
While the other lions loved to nap on high, rocky ridges to catch the breeze, Leo preferred to stay down in the flat, green meadows. Whenever he looked at a hill, his knees would turn to jelly, and his tummy would do a nervous little flip-flop.
One sunny afternoon, Leo was wandering near the Big Gray Ridge when he spotted Daisy the Deer. Daisy was munching on some delicious-looking clover at the bottom of the cliff.
"Hey, Daisy!" Leo called out from the top of the ridge. He was only a few feet up, but to him, it felt like he was standing on the moon.
Daisy looked up, her big ears twitching. "Hi, Leo! Are you coming down to play? The clover is extra crunchy today!"
Leo looked down. The ground felt miles away. His paws started to tremble. "Uh, I’d love to, Daisy, but... I’m busy! I’m, uh, guarding this rock. It’s a very important rock."
Daisy tilted her head. "It looks like a regular rock to me. Are you stuck, Leo?"
"Stuck? Me? A King of the Jungle?" Leo tried to puff out his chest, but he accidentally glanced over the edge again. Gulp. "I just... I don't like the 'tummy-tickle' I get when I look down."
Daisy smiled kindly. She knew all about tummy-tickles. "You know, Leo, being brave doesn't mean you aren't scared. It just means you keep going even when your tummy is doing gymnastics."
"Really?" Leo asked, his whiskers drooping.
"Really," Daisy said. "Try this: Don't look at the whole cliff. Just look at your paws. Move one paw to that flat stone right below you. Just one."
Leo took a deep breath. He squeezed his eyes shut for a second, then opened them and looked only at his right front paw. He moved it down to the first ledge. Clack.
"Great job!" Daisy cheered. "Now the next one."
Leo focused on his left paw. Then his back paws. He didn't look at the clouds, and he didn't look at the far-off trees. He just looked at the next safe spot. Slowly but surely, the "tummy-tickle" started to fade.
With one final hop, Leo’s paws hit the soft, flat grass. "I did it!" Leo roared—not a scary roar, but a happy, "I-can’t-believe-it" roar.
"You sure did," Daisy laughed, tossing him a piece of clover.
Leo realized that he might never love high places, but he learned that with a little help from a friend and one small step at a time, even a lion who fears heights can find his way back to the green, green grass.
Comments