BUT, I KNEW THIS STORY BEFORE...

One day, Lion, the king of the jungle, went for hunting. He took along some of his subjects – Fox, Jackal, Hyena and Panther – for help. By the end of the day, they had collected a large pile of meat. It was time for sharing.

The Lion made four equal parts.

Pointing at the first share, the Lion roared: “I am the King of this jungle. So, rightfully, the first share belongs to me, your King… Any problem? Any objection?”

“No Sire,” the Subjects cried, respectfully.

Pointing at the second share, the Lion thundered: “This share is for my wife, the Lioness, your Queen… Any problem? Any objection?”

“No Sire,” the animals replied, in a chorus.

It was dark. They were all tired and hungry. Two shares had already gone. But, two were still left… and, there was hope.

Pointing at the third share, the Lion blasted: “This share is for my son, the Prince, your future King… Any problem, any objection?”

“No Sire,” the response was milder, this time. 

Only one share was left before the tired and hungry Subjects. They still had hope… and, they were waiting.

 

Pointing at the last share, the Lion declared lovingly: “This share is for YOU, my dear, dear subjects!”

On hearing this, the faces of those tired and hungry animals lit up, all of a sudden. Alas! They heard their King’s thunder, once again: “But, but, but… For that, you have to FIGHT WITH ME!!!”

Suddenly, a sadness fell on the helpless animals’ faces… and their hearts sank. They had no strength left in them to say anything. One by one, they went back to their homes… cursing their own fates.

Ladies and Gentlemen, every time, you come across the English phrase, ‘Lion’s Share’, it means – ‘the bigger share’ or ‘the better share’. But, long, long ago, it meant – ‘Every thing’… ‘The whole thing’!

 

Well, now that I have told you this story. Hope, you liked it.


Two days ago, I had told this story in the PD sessions, with all my heart… I had dramatized it. There were two separate batches – the Pre-teens and the Youth. Both had heard it… and, I had now asked them to recall this story for a while… and, then write it down. I had encouraged them to be absolutely free… Simply get into the flow… never to worry about the grammar or the spellings… never to worry about the exact dialogues which I had used… I had asked them to give undivided attention to the story, trust their hearts and how they would re-tell it… use their wild imagination… and, above all, go by their innocent curiosity… just for the sheer joy of it. Yes, the joy of telling a good story.

The Pre-teens were fantastic… 

The youth couldn’t get into such flow so effortlessly…

There were a couple of middle-aged. They could hardly tell this story the way the little ones did!

“Please note down your homework,” 

I announced, “You will re-write this story at home

with your own magic… 

trusting yourself, using your wild imagination… 

and, going by your innocent curiosity.” 

 

All were not so enthusiastic… “But, what if…?”

“Yes, what if my grammar goes wrong?”

“What if my spellings go wrong?

“What if my dialogues go wrong?”

“What if my version is not as good as my friend’s?”

“I already knew this story?”

“Actually, yours is not the ‘correct’ story… The ‘correct one’ is…”

“What is this ‘kids-stuff? Give us something tough, something  challenging?”

“What is it going to serve us?”

I wasn’t surprised when I ‘checked’ the ‘homework’, the next day…


I had told them, that they had to just trust, go by their innocence… use their wild imagination… be fired by their curiosity. 

But, as one ‘grew-up’, it seemed, it was too tough a homework to do!

GERALD D’CUNHA

Pics.: 1. Shalet Crasta

       

         2. Supriya Chavan