Once upon a time, there lived a gray old fynx. His tail barely, if ever, rose from its slumbering position.
He never got excited, never got bored, never got hungry or thirsty. All he wanted to do was sleep and
rest. When his friends came to visit him, all they saw was not a lively, energetic fynx as he once had
been, but a depressed, old one. Once or twice they even tried to wake him. But as you can obviously
guess, it did not work. One such day, the friends got together and discussed. They did not like the idea
of their friend wasting around. They came up with a plan. They would go to a wise old lion and ask his
counsel. It was a dangerous path though. Wolves stood guard at the Golden Gate of the Lion. Dragons,
Scorpions, Snakes and even the trees themselves constantly looked around, looking for trespassers.
There were sheer cliffs that one misstep, and you were surely going to fall to your doom. Every
waterbody had Alligators, Crocodiles, Snakes and much more. If someone attempted to make that
journey of approximately 2500 kilometers, either they were stupid or desperate. In this case it was
neither. They were duty-bound to help their desperate friend. And they would do it no matter what.
After 5 hours, all the friends already regretted their decisions. The first part of the journey tested your
endurance. You had to walk across a desert that took a normal animal or person at least a week. The
weather also differentiated daily, as if by the lion’s choice. Some Days it was a brazing sun but other
days it was an icy wind so cold that it will freeze your skin. Nevertheless, they plowed on. They had
one major factor contributing to their looming victory. Exactly on the spring equinox, this desert was
neither cold, nor hot. For that one day, the weather was perfectly balanced. They passed most of the
distance on that one day, knowing they needed to use this opportunity. They plowed on, day and night
until they reached the end of the desert.
Now this marked the beginning of the second obstacle. The Test of Bravery. You had to make your
way over rivers of lava, go through ground that literally collapsed between your feet, make your way
under cave mines that have unspeakable dangers, and by far the most dangerous, attempt to climb a
mountain with animals waiting at the top that…did not want you to go beyond this point. As the
friends made their way through these obstacles, they nearly died three times. They somehow held on
and approached the golden gate. But now the most difficult challenge awaited them…they had to get
past the Three Wolves. They were famous for their ferocity and loyalty. They would do anything for
the lion. Even though the friends thought that wolves would be their final challenge. But in fact, the
Lion had many spies.
Scorpions barred their way, trees tried to ram them, the ground collapsed beneath their feet, but they
kept on moving on. When they finally arrived at the golden gate, it…well was surprising. They had all
expected the wolves to be snarling, growling, and in general terrifying. But instead, what they saw was
something they never expected. It was like the lion was made of gold. Golden eyes, golden fur,
everything golden. The lion said, “Welcome to my humble home. The Palace of Gold. I am sorry for
putting you through all those challenges, but I needed to see if you were worthy. I know what you
came here for. And I will indeed help you. But you must never mention it to anyone about me.” “We
agree. But do we have to go through the terrain again?” “No. I will give you a shortcut home. By the
time you get there, your friend will be cured.” The Lion literally created a road out of thin air leading
down right into their jungle. The friends bade goodbye to their friend that they made for just a few
seconds, and then they proceeded to go home.
As the Lion promised, by the time they got to their jungle, the Fynx was looking cured and well. He
thanked each of his friends from the bottom of his heart and knew that he had true friends. They
would do anything for him and him, for them. They sat around and traded stories while the Lion,
watching from his massive throne, smiled, satisfied.
