Lion's Whisker by Skywalker

Haile was a happy little boy living with his mother and father in their home in Ethiopia. But,
one day his mother died and Haile was so hurt, and so confused, and so angry. A year passed
and his father decided to remarry. But, Haile remained so hurt, and so confused, and so angry.
So when Zeynab met him and hugged him he pulled away from her. When she fixed him his
favorite foods for dinner he didnt eat. When she made him a play suit out of fine cloth he ran
through the woods and played so roughly he tore the clothes up. Whenever she spoke to him
he ignored her.
One day when her husband was gone hunting, Zeynab went to Hailes bedroom to talk to
him.
"Haile, I love you so much and I really need you to love. . ."
Before she could finish Haile jumped up and said, "I hate you, you arent my mother. Im
running away."
Haile ran past Zayneb and out of the house. Zayneb sat down and cried and cried. When her
husband returned she told him what had happened. He told her to go on and cook dinner and
not to worry that he would find Haile. Haile was at the river in his favorite spot. The two
walked home and ate dinner without a word.
That night, as the other two slept, Zayneb got out and walked deep into the forest to the home
of the witch doctor. The witch doctor was a very wise woman who knew the ways of peoples
minds and hearts.
"I need you to make me a love potion so my step-son will love me," said Zayneb.
"Well," the old woman said slowly, "Before I can give you a love potion, you must bring me
the whisker from a ferocious lion."
Zeynabs eyes grew large as she said, "How am I supposed to do that?"
"Use your imagination," said the witch doctor.
Zeynab went home and slept just a few more hours. She got up before the sun rose and put
several large pieces of raw meat in a bag and headed toward the hills. She walked until she
found a cave which had large paw prints around it. Zeynab took a piece of meat out and
placed it in front of the entrance to the cave. Then she hid in the bushes about 50 feet from
the entrance and waited.
After a few minutes a large, very ferocious looking lion stepped out of the cave, looked
around, smelled the meat, and ate it all up.

Zayneb waited for a couple of more hours then she walked up to the entrance of the cave and
placed a second piece of meat in front of it. She moved back only two steps. After a few
minutes the lion came out. He looked around, stared at Zayneb. She stared back at the lion.
Although she was shaking inside, she didnt move her body. She just stared right back at the
lions large brown eyes. The lion smelled the meat, picked it up and began eating.
Very slowly Zayneb extended her hand, grabbed a whisker and quickly pulled it out. The lion
kept eating as slowly, very slowly, as if walking on a tight rope, Zayneb backed away toward
the bushes. When she got into the forest she ran back to the witch doctors home.
Breathing heavily, she rushed into the witch doctors house and held up the whisker. "See,
here, I brought you a lions whisker. Now, give me a love potion."
The witch doctor looked at the whisker. "Ah, this does look like a ferocious lions whisker.
But, I dont have any love potions."
"What, what do you mean?" screamed Zayneb.
"Now, tell me, how did you get that lions whisker?" the old lady calmly asked.
"Well, I had to be very, very careful and patient. I was very gentle and very quiet, and
persistent."
"Yes, and you were very courageous. See, you have all of the skills you will need to get your
stepson to love you without a magic potion."
Then Zayneb understood. She returned home and treated Haile nicely as before. But, she did
not make any special efforts to win his affection. She was just her sweet, giving self. When
Haile was rude to her or ignored her, she continued on as if he had said nothing. In three
weeks Haile began to smile and speak to Zayneb. In six weeks he offered to help her with
chores. In nine weeks he invited her to walk with him to his favorite place at the river. One
night about 12 weeks later, just before he fell asleep Haile looked up in Zaynebs eyes and
said, "Zayneb, I love you."