Kidogo couldn't believe he had just been exiled by Kubwa. What would he do without his mother and the other lionesses, who hunted for the pride?

The young cub stared after the burly lion, then looked at Twiga with sad eyes. The giraffe looked down at him in sympathy. Kidogo gazed at the water of the watering hole, thinking to himself. Twiga stayed silent for the lion cub's sake. She did not want to bother him, but had to speak up.

"Kidogo, want to swim?" she asked, half-excitedly.

Kidogo stayed where he was, leaving a burning gaze on the water, not wanting to move from his trance. So Twiga tried again to cheer him up.

"We can pretend that you're the leader of your own pride! Of Kidogo's pride! With animals of all kinds!" she said playfully.

At the words "leader of your own pride", Kidogo seemed to brighten up a little. He looked up at Twiga and nodded. "I can be leader of the Serengeti!" he exclaimed happily. Twiga kicked up dust from behind in excitement. 

The two savanna animals played together in the African sun, taking in its warmth as the morning turned to noon. Then Kidogo got hungry. He realized that he couldn't eat Twiga, as she was his friend and that would be just plain cruel. So he scouted for a small zebra or gazelle, found one, and took it for his lunch. Twiga chomped on some leaves on a tree. 

And Kidogo was the leader of his own pride.