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Leo, the majestic lion king who ruled over his pride and territory in the Masai Mara straddling the countries of Kenya and Tanganyika, was again busy enthralling his subjects with stories. Today, his storyline is about how most human’s proverbial sayings about cats were derived. “Firstly, let me clarify they were not due to our domesticated, puny, weak, purring, human-loving cousins but rather from us, majestic, roaring, big cats -the lions.”

Leo continues, “I’m certain you’ve heard the following, ‘’A cat has nine lives’ and that ‘Curiosity killed the cat.’ Both of these idioms came about through a tragic incident. A group of Westerners, namely trophy hunters, poaching large targets -specifically lions, in an area of dense trees, where me and the other young lions would rough house, was well known by the local trackers.

That sunny day, no different from other days, we were cajoling in a clearing at the centre of the jungle. The hunting party was downwind from us, and we were unaware of their approach. Their tracker pointed through the foliage, indicating a clear view of a lion’s head with a magnificent golden mane.

Sure enough, one of my friends, an inquisitive type, saw them too and just stood there rooted peering at them. He was young and naive, yet to be schooled in man’s ways. I was engrossed in play on the opposite side of the clearing, oblivious to the unfolding danger. Too late, the sharp crack of a gunshot shattered the peace. I looked around and saw my friend lying wounded and in the throes of death on the ground. Before I could alert my brothers, another young, inquisitive lion peered through the same opening. On seeing this head appear again, the tracker alerted the hunter by telling him he had missed and to shoot again. This scenario happened again and again and I was unable to stop the slaughter of my friends.

Fearing losing my own life and that of the remainder of our group, I jumped into action, warning the others to flee the carnage.  In the meantime, as no more lion heads appeared, the hunting party moved to the killing field and there they found, not one, not two, or three but nine dead lions. Leo paused and continued, hence the saying, ‘a cat has nine lives.’ Once we returned to the pride, minus our nine brothers, we had to relate the devastating demise of our fallen brothers. On sharing our encounter another proverb arose ‘Curiosity killed the cat’ because of the curiosity of the nine cats that lost their lives that day.

That day, when my nine friends were lost, has forever been etched in our collective memory as the day a cat-astrophe struck our pride.”

Later in the day, Leo shared more ‘cat-astrophic’ stories. He added, “During a period of scarce prey and challenging hunts, one of the lionesses from our pride decided, instead of lazing around under the sun, she ventured out into the jungle and encountered a group of about four wild dogs that had just cornered and killed an antelope. Hunger lent her untold strength and in no time she had killed two of them before the others ran off for fear of their lives. Seizing the opportunity, she took hold of that antelope, fearing the return of the wild dog pack and in her strong jaw, carried, and dragged that dead antelope to our pride. On seeing this, the then lion king, shouted in a loud cheerful voice, ‘Look what the cat dragged in.’ In addition to her courageous escape from the wild dogs, she also earned the title: ‘The cat burglar.’

The lion king, overjoyed with gratitude for her contribution, allowed her first choice of the spoil, a privilege usually reserved for the lion king. Without hesitation, she opted to take the juicy liver from the carcass, which added another title to her name, or as some would say, another feather in her cap. She was also known as ‘The cat that got the cream (of the carcass).'”

Leo continued, “All of this did not go unnoticed by the alpha lioness. She felt that her position as the queen was being usurped and started plotting a way of re-establishing herself. Firstly, she made sure to lose the bad ‘cat-titude’ she had developed within her pride. She then focused on cultivating a more ‘paw-some’ personality, striving to appear utterly feline fabulous in the king’s eyes. This deliberate effort proved successful. She ended up ‘feline’ good and looked more radiant.” King Leo added with this retort, “I am Lion -not lying”

As the sun began to dip below the horizon, casting long shadows across the golden savanna, Leo concluded his day’s tales, “So you see,” Leo rumbled, with a resonant purr, “these human sayings, hold echoes of our true strength, courage, and sometimes, our fateful curiosity. They are reminders that even the smallest actions, be they a curious glance or a daring hunt, can ripple through time and become the legends by which we are remembered.” The pride nodded in silent agreement to the day’s stories of loss and triumph settling deep within their memories, ready to be passed down through generations.