Roadside Romeo was living on the streets since he was a little puppy. His mother had been run over by a car. Since then, he was on his own.

 

One day, he was out and about, exploring the territory when he came to a place much greener than any other he had ever seen. He trotted a little more and found a little stream which had the sweetest water he had ever tasted. This was a strange place. He had never seen anything like this before.

 

He was enjoying his bliss in paradise when he was stopped by two squirrels.

 

“We are the guards of King Leopard” they squeaked.

 

“You have intruded in our lands. We are to bring you to him”

 

Roadside Romeo followed them to a clearing where, perched on a throne of sticks and leaves, cat what looked like a giant cat with spots all over its body.
 

“I am Leopard, King of the jungle. Who are you and how dare you intrude on my lands?” the cat roared.

 

Roadside Romeo immediately dropped down on all fours –

“Oh King!” – he said “I am but a poor orphan dog. I have simply wandered onto these lands. Please forgive me”

 

King Leopard thought about his starving pack. There had not been a fruitful hunt in nearly a fortnight.

 

“If this were a good day, I would let you go with a punishment. However, as it stands, I must feed you to my pack” the King said after a few minutes of contemplation.

 

The poor dog begged and begged for his life. “I am still very young” he said. He told him how he still had a life to live. But, the ferocious predator would not hear it. Finally, Romeo changed tactics.

 

“What good am I?” he said. “I can lead you to a place where there is ample to food and no one to stop you. Where you can hunt the ultimate enemy… humans”

 

“And where is this paradise?” the King asked.

 

“If you allow me, I shall lead you there”

 

And so, after a bit more negotiating, they proceeded out of the jungle and into the wild. Where concrete tress rose to astronomical heights and people breathed carbon dioxide, not oxygen.

 

“This is a mall” Romeo said to the King. “This is where humans come to indulge themselves”

 

The King and his squirrels stood amazed as they watched humans hustling and bustling about. Some had long hair, some had short, some wore a lot of clothes, some wore the bare minimum. They all seemed to not mind the existence of the others. There was no connection to be seen between them. they just walked about in little groups, not minding each other.

 

“Can you take me in there?” the King asked.

 

“Of course I can. But I have to warn you, humans can be very dangerous”

 

“Am I the one with teeth and claws?” the Leopard roared.

 

“Yes your Majesty”

 

Through a little entrance that Romeo often used to get into the mall’s garbage late at night, he led the group in. Stealthily, they made their way into the building, making sure no one noticed them. Finally, when they were inside the building, Leopard roared the loudest he ever had. As soon as people heard him, they scampered to the exits. They ran with fright and terror. Leopard began to run a chase the humans. Meanwhile, Romeo and the squirrels hid under one of the moving staircases.

 

Leopard chased a woman to a corner. He stared in her eyes as she screamed and screamed. He backed up a little bit. Then, full force he ran in her direction. Suddenly, he felt something hit him. It was soft but heavy. He turned his head to look at what it was. It was a rather large piece of skin that looked just like his. He looked in the direction from which it came. There was a human man staring at him. He seemed unafraid. Leopard crept towards him in a tantalizingly slow pace. When he finally reached the human’s foot, he stared up into his eyes and asked –

 

“What is that?”

 

“It’s the fur of one of your relatives” the man replied. “We wear it to keep warm”

 

Leopard took a step back.

 

“Did you get that yourself?”

 

“Well no… there are men who hunt your kind and there are men who skin them. I just sell them to those who want to buy”

 

Leopard felt fear creep in his heart.

 

“Would you want that?” the man asked, sitting down.

 

“Why would I need that? I have my own fur” the proud Leopard asked.

 

“That is true but tell me this, do you shed?”

 

“Yes of course I do”

 

“Don’t you think there will come a time when you will shed all of your fur. You can then wear that to protect yourself from the cold. Like we do”

 

“I had never thought of that” the King replied. “Fine I’ll take it”

 

“I can not give it to you for free. You’ll have to give me something in return”

 

“What can I give you that is any use to you?” the King enquired.

 

“How about the life of all the people in this mall. You can take that fur and leave” the man said.

 

“But if I leave, I’ll have no food to take back to the pack”

 

“Well if you leave, you can give your pack warmth from the cold. You’ll find plenty to eat in the jungle”

 

And so the deal was struck. King Leopard left the mall with an empty belly and an extra coat of fur and Roadside Romeo never saw him again.