Chapter Thirty-Four: The Witty Little Lion

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Chapter Thirty-Four: The Clever Little Lion

Chuye had already awakened after the male lion left. He had been sleeping poorly these past few nights. After all, he was different from the other cubs.

The other little lions did not think about very much. Chuye, on the other hand, was the opposite. Every day, he thought about countless things. He was constantly concerned about the pride he belonged to.

Although Chuye was still only a cub, his daily routine was the same as that of the lionesses and the male lions. They all slept during the day and worked at night.

Chuye did not need to work, but he still had to remain constantly alert to the dangers around him. He knew that, given the pride’s limited strength, he had a responsibility and an obligation to protect himself and the other cubs.

Chuye now emerged from the bushes and climbed straight up the large tree.

When he reached the top and gazed northward, he saw a great many wild dogs running toward them.

The moonlight was bright, so Chuye could easily make out their movements. Lions already had fairly good night vision, and at a glance he could see that a pack of wild dogs was charging in their direction.

“This is bad. The wild dogs are attacking!”

Chuye was certain that the attackers were Kut’s pack.

He had been keeping watch on the wild dogs nearby these past few days. He knew that hyenas were not the only animals capable of attacking a pride; wild dogs could do so as well.

During the dry season, both hyenas and wild dogs might attack a lion pride. They desperately needed lion cubs to solve their hunger and survive.

“The lionesses and the male lions aren’t here. What are we going to do?”

Chuye grew frantic.

He himself could climb into the tree to escape such a disaster, but the other cubs did not possess that ability. When danger came, all they could do was hide in the distant bushes.

“No. I have to get the other cubs to hide in the bushes farther away.”

Chuye knew that the other cubs could not climb trees. When danger threatened, the only thing they could do was conceal themselves well and keep the hunters from discovering them.

So Chuye quickly climbed down from the tree and slipped into the bushes.

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“Roar! Roar!”

Chuye began roaring at the other cubs, who were still sleeping soundly in the bushes.

The other eight cubs had been asleep, but they all awoke when they suddenly heard Chuye’s cries.

They still did not understand what was happening. They merely stared at Chuye, each of them looking utterly bewildered.

Seeing this, Chuye grew anxious and let out another furious series of roars. He also raised a paw and pointed toward the northern edge of the territory.

At that very moment, Kut had led the pack of wild dogs to the vicinity of the large tree. When he saw that there were no adult lions around, he seemed extremely pleased. He immediately let out a roar, almost as though he were laughing triumphantly.

In truth, wild dogs were not animals that liked to howl. Under ordinary circumstances, they worked in silence.

Only when they were exceptionally excited or especially frightened did they make much noise.

In that respect, they were precisely the opposite of hyenas.

Hyenas were a pack of animals that spent all day whining and grunting for no apparent reason.

The cubs hiding in the bushes had not known what was happening. But when they heard the wild dogs’ calls, they immediately understood what Chuye meant.

By now, the cubs had grown accustomed to such situations. They had gained some experience. Although they were incapable of confronting predators, they had at least learned how to flee and hide from danger.

As soon as the eight cubs heard the wild dogs, they all darted into the bushes farther away.

Chuye hurriedly climbed back into the tree.

At that moment, Kut had already led his army of twenty wild dogs to the edge of the bushes.

Kut believed that the nine cubs were still hiding there and that this time he could capture them all at once.

He was the first to charge into the bushes.

The other wild dogs followed impatiently. They all felt certain that they would achieve a complete victory and seize all nine cubs.

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But to Kut’s great confusion, after they entered the bushes, they did not find a single cub.

Kut and the other wild dogs were astonished. They sniffed around repeatedly, searching for the cubs’ trail.

Meanwhile, Chuye remained in the tree. As long as he made no sound, it seemed that the pack might not discover him.

But Chuye felt that he still needed to make some noise. He saw that after failing to find the cubs in the bushes, Kut had begun widening the search.

The wild dogs had probably caught the cubs’ scent, but they could not yet determine where the cubs were hiding.

“Roar! Roar!”

When Chuye saw Kut expanding the search, he immediately began calling from the tree.

At the sound of his cries, Kut and the wild dogs stopped. Together, they raised their heads and stared at Chuye perched in the tree.

Kut stopped searching the other bushes. He began to suspect that the cubs had all climbed into the tree.

After all, one of the cubs was calling from above. Clearly, the others might also be hiding in the tree.

When Kut thought of this, he felt that all their efforts had been wasted. If the cubs had all climbed into the tree, there was nothing the pack could do. Wild dogs could never climb such a tree, no matter how hard they tried.

So Kut and the other wild dogs surrounded the tree where Chuye sat. Together, they lifted their heads and gazed up at him.

When Chuye saw them watching him, he deliberately called out several more times. He wanted to draw their attention and make sure they focused only on him, without noticing anything else.

At first, Kut also wondered whether all the cubs had hidden in the tree. But what he had not expected was that, after staring for a long while, he saw only one cub above.

This made Kut feel certain that the other cubs were not in the tree. Only one cub was up there.

Kut was clever. Once he understood the situation, he stopped paying attention to Chuye and continued leading the wild dogs through the nearby bushes in search of the other cubs.

Seeing this, Chuye grew anxious. He stood in the tree and began roaring loudly at the pack once more.

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