When the little lion cub was just born, he had to get to the nipples on his mother's stomach, along the backs and heads of his brothers and sisters - little lion cubs like himself. Yes, it happens in life that sometimes you have to go overhead and not pay attention to even the closest animals.

However, when the lion cub and his brothers and sisters grew enough to have fangs, the mother lioness brought them some fresh meat. The meat was very tasty, but they never had time to try it. As soon as the mother was gone about her business, a teenage lion, their cousin, came and took the meat. The lion cub growled at him, but he immediately received a blow from his paw and squeaked pitifully. The teenage lion was twice his age and twice his size.

"Mom, what should I do?" - The lion cub asked his mother when she returned. "The elder took our meat."

"You are a future lion," his mother shrugged. "Use your fangs."

"I growled," the kid began to justify himself. "But he was much stronger than me."

"Never give up," the lioness told him. "I'll show you something."

Having said this, the lioness disappeared into the bushes, and a second later, she brought some strange thing to the lion cub. It was a wooden ball, to which was attached another one with a painted face and hands on top.

"What is this?" - asked the lion cub.

"This is a magical toy. Once upon a time, a goblin merchant passed through our domain. And so that we wouldn't eat him, he paid off with this gift," his mother answered. "Look!"

With these words, she placed the figurine on the ground and lightly hit it with her paw. The toy swayed to the side but did not fall; it swayed and after some time stood again, as before.

"She can take a blow perfectly," said the lioness. "So it is with us. There are no lions that don't fall. There are those who don't get up."

The lion cub really liked this toy. Moreover, he beat it with his paw for hours and watched as the fabulous thing returned to its original position. He even showed it to his brothers and sisters, and they all played together with the new toy. Until one day, the older lion cub came again and decided to take it away.

Then everyone, not only the little lion cub, but also his brothers and sisters bared their fangs. Again, nothing came of this. Their cousin was stronger. In addition, they all received painful blows from his strong paws - all but one. The lion cub that didn't roar. The teenager simply did not pay attention to him.

Then our hero again came to his lioness mother and asked how it was; he didn't give up, but still, nothing good came of it.

"You must always give back," answered the lioness, "even if you know that you will lose." After all, you are a lion! Only then will they take you into account. And let the enemy be stronger. However, if he knows that you will certainly resist, he will once again think about whether to get involved with you. After all, victory will come at a great price.

As time went by, the lion cubs were growing up. Their muzzles became larger, and their paws strong. Let's not forget about the fangs. Only the lion cub that didn't growl did not grow very well. In addition, his paws, on the contrary, became thinner, and his muzzle more elongated. Nevertheless, the ears grew.

Therefore, the mother lioness brought them a new gift - the carcass of an animal she had killed. The grown-up lion cubs immediately tore her to pieces, and everyone now had their own piece. But as soon as the mother left, their evil relative appeared again. He has also matured and intended, as usual, to take what he wanted. However, it was not there! Our lion cub bared his fangs in his no longer childish mouth. Almost all his brothers and sisters followed his example.

Except for that lion cub with the big ears. This time they only took the meat from him, and he got more scared than usual and ran away somewhere into the jungle. No one saw him again. Only at night did a timid jackal with large ears, thin paws, and a thin, ever-frightened muzzle approach the pride of lions in search of scraps. But as soon as he growled slightly, he disappeared into the endlessly dark southern night.