Chapter 9 - Crisis
After dawn.
When Little Curly Tail woke up and wagged his tail to look for his brother, he suddenly let out a scream and turned to run!
The five female lions were awakened.
The few little cubs also woke up in confusion.
When the female lions came under the tree, they were immediately shocked by what they saw!
Under the tree, a thick patterned python flipped its belly and died in the gra.s.s.
Its body was intact and there were no wounds or bloodstains.
However, the lower half of its mouth was nowhere to be seen!
On the tree, the six-month-old male cub was sleeping soundly. Its mouth and neck were covered in blood!
The lower half of the python"s mouth was on the branch beside him, dripping with blood!
The five female lions raised their heads and looked dazed.
The cubs ran over one after another. They were all frightened by the python on the ground and cowered behind the female lions.
Mei Mei shivered and crawled under Xi"er.
Little Curly Tail was much bolder.
Although this kid had been shocked when he first saw the python, he now dared to approach it. He even extended his little claws to slap the head of python that had died with a grievance.
The b.l.o.o.d.y smell of the python stimulated the hungry lionesses.
Although the five female lions did not know how this python"s chin was bitten off by a young cub, this did not stop them from filling their hungry stomachs with it.
Although this python was not too big, it was rather long and its entire body was made of flesh. It was enough for every lioness to eat a few bites.
Taking advantage of the absence of the male lion, the five female lions immediately ate heartily.
The cubs stood at the side, not daring to go forward.
Only Little Curly Tail took a bite of the b.l.o.o.d.y snake tail. But he immediately spat it out with a look of disdain.
He probably could not get used to this meaty thing.
Lions generally did not eat snakes, nor would they provoke snakes unless they were too hungry.
In less than a moment.
An entire python was devoured by the five female lions.
However, their stomachs were not full.
And they still had to feed the cubs.
After patrolling the territory, the lion would return to eat.
Hence, the female lions had to go out to hunt.
Initially, they had wanted to continue letting the blind Xi"er stay to take care of the cubs. After all, she seemed to be severely injured yesterday and was on the verge of death.
However, Xi"er insisted on hunting.
She even ran in front of the four female lions and jumped a few times to show that she could do it.
She did not want her friends and daughter to look down on her.
Finally.
Aisha stayed.
When she was hunting last night, her front leg was injured.
Although her wound had already healed and she no longer felt any pain.
After the four female lions left.
Aisha lifted her injured leg and looked at it carefully. She even licked it a few times. It seemed strange.
When she was injured in the past, she could not recover so quickly.
"Roar!"
Little Curly Tail raised his head and shouted at Chu Xiaoye, who was on the tree. He wanted his brother to play with him.
However, Chu Xiaoye was lying motionless on the branch.
He had almost exhausted all his energy last night and was very tired now.
He wanted to sleep.
Aisha looked up, thought for a while, and then lay down under the tree. She raised her neck and looked warily at the seven young cubs around her.
Seeing that his brother was ignoring him, Little Curly Tail could only start sprinting towards the tree. He wanted to climb up the tree to wake him up.
But after trying several times, he gave up halfway.
Mei Mei also started to sprint.
She failed the first time.
The second time, she managed to charge up in one move!
However, just as the little lioness steadied herself on the branch, she suddenly saw the mouth of the python. She immediately let out a terrified scream and almost fell from the tree. Her entire body trembled non-stop!
Chu Xiaoye was woken up by her and did not have any protective feelings for the fairer s.e.x. He slapped her on the head, got up, climbed onto a higher branch, and continued to sleep.
Mei Mei was terrified by the half of the python"s mouth. She saw that his mouth was full of blood and he looked ferocious. She did not dare to stay on the tree any longer and immediately retreated from the tree while trembling.
Little Curly Tail was recalcitrant and continued to charge towards the big tree!
Finally, he climbed up.
When he saw the half of the python"s mouth on the branch, to show off in front of Mei Mei, he bit it in his mouth and deliberately lowered his head. Looking at Mei Mei, who was still trembling under the tree, he started chewing with relish.
Mei Mei did not dare to look anymore. She turned around and ran, jumping onto the small tree beside her.
Little Curly Tail was very pleased.
Although he felt a little disgusted, he still ate the half of the python"s mouth.
"Roar!"
He looked up and called Chu Xiaoye a few times, but there was no response.
Just as he was about to continue climbing, Chu Xiaoye suddenly spread his hind legs and started peeing on the tree.
The urine splashed accurately onto Little Curly Tail"s head.
Little Curly Tail was shocked and angry. He hurriedly shook his head and retreated from the tree. He ran to his mother and complained.
The urine flowed from the tree.
Aisha also got up in a hurry and shifted some distance away. She looked up at the tree with a helpless expression.
On the small tree, Mei Mei was wagging her tail and jumping around with a gloating expression.
Little Curly Tail was so angry that he wanted to go up and beat her up.
Mei Mei immediately blocked him at the first branch and prevented him from going up.
The one-year-old male cub, Lars, brought the other cubs over to play with Little Curly Tail.
Little Curly Tail ignored this big brother and walked away arrogantly. He went to hit the small bugs in the gra.s.s.
Seeing Mei Mei on the tree, Lars suddenly thought of the dangerous situation yesterday.
When the hyenas attacked yesterday, the female cub had climbed up the tree very quickly. Meanwhile, as the big brother, he could not manage to climb up no matter how hard he tried.
If not for his half-brother using his head to push him up, he would have been eaten by the hyenas.
Thinking of this, he turned his head and looked at the boy sleeping on the big tree beside him. He was secretly grateful and impressed.
"No, as the elder brother, how can I be weaker than the other younger brothers?"
He immediately called out to his brothers and sisters behind him, telling them to follow him and practise climbing trees.
At a crucial moment, if he wanted to live, he had to rely on himself!
Hence.
The group of cubs started to practise climbing trees.
The ferocious hyenas from yesterday had frightened them badly.
It was safer on the tree.
Chu Xiaoye had thought the same previously.
However, after experiencing the nightmare last night, he realized that whether it was on the tree or under the tree, it would not be absolutely safe.
The safest way was to be strong!
"Roar—"
With a low growl, the lion paced back majestically.
Aisha quickly stood up and went over to rub his head. What she got in return was a cold gaze and an impatient roar.
The lion was hungry.
He ate the most yesterday and did not do much vigorous exercise. He could have gone hungry for a few more days.
However, the rainy season and the abundant food it brought with it had already spoilt him.
He was used to having fresh meat every day.
Aisha looked into the distance and was secretly worried.
Last night, the four female lions ran very far before they found their prey. After chasing for a long time, they did not succeed. In the end, they only caught a small warthog.
She wondered if Xi"er and the others would be able to return with plenty of prey today.
If they failed again, their king would be furious.
And their children would also go hungry.
She hoped that the rainy season could be extended and that the dry season would not arrive so soon.
After all, their children were still young and needed to be fed with abundant food.
Although it was morning, the air was still hot.
The lion lay on a slope, looking at the distant gra.s.sland with a dignified gaze while waiting for the lionesses to return from hunting.
On the tree.
Chu Xiaoye was still sleeping soundly.