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Mother Cheetah is hungry. Very soon her cubs will be born, and for that she will need all her strength. She travels north from the plains the cheetah live on. She goes north, across the southern river, across the jungled island, across the northern river, and into the plains where the antelope live.

Mother Cheetah, so heavy with cubs, cannot catch the quickest prey. She is only able to catch Mother Antelope, who is close to birthing her calf. As hungry as she is, Mother Cheetah completely devours Mother Antelope, baby and all.

Her hunger satiated, Mother Cheetah turns south. She makes it out of the north plain, across the north river, and into the jungle island, but darkness is falling quickly, and Mother Cheetah is feeling the first pains of birth. All night she lays in the jungle in pain.

At the next dawn, Mother Cheetah's first child is born, but it is no cub she gives birth to. An antelope is birthed from her belly, the points of its horns ripping her flesh as it emerges. Soon after this, the father of Mother Cheetah's cubs finds her in the jungle.

"This is no child of mine!" he roars, seeing the antelope lying next to her. He picks up the child, covered in blood and the wetness of birth. "If it is not mine, it will not be yours either." Cheetah takes away the new antelope and drowns it in the southern river as he returns to his home, leaving Mother Cheetah, still bleeding, to her own fate.

At noon that same day, Mother Cheetah gives birth to a second child. This one, a cub-sized image of her, is perfectly formed in every way. No sooner is it delivered from Mother Cheetah's belly that Antelope comes upon them in the jungle. "You stole my child, now I steal yours." Antelope takes the cub and drowns it in the norther river as he returns to his home. Mother Cheetah, still bleeding, is left for dead.

As the day fades, Mother Cheetah still lies alone in the jungle. At sun set a third child is born. It is formed like a cub, her true offspring, but bears the horns of an antelope. They tear Mother Cheetah's belly, and her wounds are opened again. Moments later, two elephants rumble out of the jungle and stop when they see Mother Cheetah and her child.

"Have you come to take away my last cub?" Mother Cheetah speaks without moving. She is too weak.

"No" says the first elephant.
"Have your other cubs gone missing?" says the second elephant.

"My first cub was an antelope. Cheetah drown it in the river and left me for dead.
"My second cub was a cheetah. Antelope drown it in the river and left me for dead."

"We are sorry to hear of your losses," says one elephant.
"We are not here to take your cub," says the other. "This is jungle is where we roam."

"I will leave you to your jungle," says Mother Cheetah, trying to rise. "My cub and I will trouble your home no more." Her voice shakes and her body quakes, and Mother Cheetah is unable to carry her cub

"No, New Mother, you are both weak," an elephant replies.
"Stay in our jungle as long as you need," replies another.

"As long as I need when Cheetahs to the south would have me dead?" asks Mother Cheetah
"Yes."
"As long as I need when Antelope to the North would have me dead?" Mother Cheetah collapses to the ground next to her cub.
"Yes."

The elephants begin to pace, trunk to tail, in circles around mother and cub.
They spoke in unison, "Stay in the jungle and raise your young. Our kind will help, every one. Remain on the island, never stray. Our word that each Man will stay away."

With no other parting words, the pair of elephants cease their circling, and walk, one following the other, into the depths of the jungle.

Mother Cheetah lies back, wondering over the elephants' words, and nearly forgetting her new, horned cub. The cub, deaf to the elephants, and blind to his mother's suffering, reaches out for her sustenance. His tongue, seeking her milk, touches her bloody wounds as well.

As her cub bathes her injuries, Mother Cheetah regains her senses and her strength.

The stars come out high above, and Mother Cheetah lifts her head, watching her cub, spots, horns, and all. With her last bit of energy before falling asleep, Mother speaks to name her son.

"Musoke"


End of part one

Part Tow

Labels: fiction