The Zebra and the Lions

Hector the Zebra Discovers the Benefits of Herd Membership

[I am starting a new section on this substack for a series called “Tall Tales and Absurd Allegories.” This strange story, “The Zebra and the Lions,” is the first installment. Hope you like it. It’s an experiment — just trying new things to “get unstuck” creatively . . .]

Photo by Jeff Lemond on Unsplash

“Oh shit, there’s a lion coming our way!” said Hector to the other zebras.

“The grass is good,” said Jimmy, the fat zebra next to him.

“What?!” cried Hector. “Did you not hear what I said? I said, ‘There’s a lion coming our way!’ No, make that two — er, no, three lions. I see three lions, and the way lions hunt, there are bound to be even more that we can’t see. They’re definitely coming our way.”

“Whose way?” asked JoAnn.

“Our way!” exclaimed Hector.

“You mean yours and Jimmy’s or mine and Sylvia’s?” asked JoAnn.

Hector shook his head and snorted before replying, “All of the above. Can we move towards the trees? Maybe the lions will go for the gazelle over there if we move away from them.'“

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