I'm not a writer by any means, but I just couldn't shake this one off. A girl?! ------------ Simba's Pride including Timon and Pumbaa stood anxiously at the mouth of the royal cavern. The queen had been secluded in it's belly for quite some time, and frankly the various threats projecting from within did not welcome any visitors. The lionesses ears perked up to the sudden shifting in the cave this particular morning. Too much time had passed since their seperation from Nala and the desire for details was becoming too much for even the most patient to bare. It was Nala's first birth, her body unexperianced and uncomfortable, was driven out of her hiding with a thirst for water as well as answers. The pride jumped at the long awaited appereance litterally swallowing Nala in a crowd of eger relatives. Nala ignored them, it was Sarafina whom she seeked out. "Mom, my instincts tell me to drink, but my maturnity screams for me to stay. What should I do?" "Hmmm, what do you think Sarabi?" The aging lioness said with a blank stare to the right. The others began to groan. "Shouldn't we tell her Sarabi's been dead for four years now?" One whispered to another. Nala's birth sister broke in, "We can't let your milk go dry now can we Nala?" She spoke with a voice of experiance. The pride memembers gleefuly took in this suggestion. "Yes, let's all go. It's been ages since we've treked to the watering hole." Nala uneasiliy glanced at the cave. "But what about my cub?" "Maybe they could help," one sister gestured to Timon and Pumbaa who had been observing the whole ordeal. "That's right," Timon urged finding a vantage point atop Pumbaa's snout,"Meerkats are excellent babysitters naturally." Before Nala could protest the assignment, a wave of excited lionesses rushed her away carring her off into the green of the Pride Lands. Timon brushed his paws and fell to the ground. "Oh Timon, we'd better be real careful." the reluctant warthog warned. "What could possibly happen? It can't walk, it's just a fuzzball!" "Maybe you're right," Pumbaa smiled only half relieved. "I'm always right, Pumbaa." The merrkat retorted entering the cave. Inside, alseep in a bed of leaves and grass, lay a small male cub. "Awe, would you look at that, he looks just like simba too," Timon smiled. Pumbaa leaned over him as well rubbing a hoof up and down his fuzzy belly. "Coochy coochy coo," Pumbaa giggled. The cub didn't find it nearly as enjoyable. It's eyes jolted open and a whailing cry burst from his lungs. "Oh no! Now look what you've done!" Timon shouted. "We need a pacifier!" Pumbaa shouted back. The meerkat and warthog dashed around frantically searching for something nipple like. All sorts of leaves, sticks, and rocks were shoved into the cub's mouth with no avail. "It's getting louder!" Timon screamed in panic. "Uh, uh, uh," Pumbaa sounded out as he scanned the cavern again. His eyes fell devilishly upon Timon. Finding his buddy, he popped Timon's paw into the cub's mouth. His crying was imediently silenced only to be replaced by Timon's as the cub clamped his jaws down on the babbysitter. "Ahhhhhh! It's got teeth!" Timon shot up running around in circles dragging the cub with him. "get it off! Get it off! Get it off!" Instinctively, Timon began to violently shake his arm until the cub was thrown off. Unfortunately, it bounced several times out of the cave, onto the promotory, and off it's edge. The two-o raced after it only to whitness the cub not bouncing when it hit the rocks many feet below. "It can't walk, but you never said it can't BOUNCE Timon!" Pumbaa grunted. Timon gritted his teeth. "Nala's gonna kill us. Then kill us some more!" "What do we do? What do we do? What do we do?!" The meerkat put his hand to his chin pacing feeverishly. "We'll just have to find a replacemrnt prince." "But the presentation is tommarrow and Nala's coming this way and-" "What!?" Timon jumped. The pair hid in the bushes as Nala and her pride sisters approached. "Well, Pumbaa old buddy, I guess we have no choice but to tell her and die like men." Timon gasped. They emerged from their disguise and faced the queen. Nala's paw swooped out cathing them in a massive hug. "I want to thank you guys for taking such good care of my new born. I was really wrong about you," she cooed pleasently. "Wait a minute!" Timon squirmed his way out of the embrace. Nala led them to the opposit side of the den that the babysitters had not noticed. But lo, there in another pile of grass and leaves slept the cub totaly unharmed and magically relocated. "But-" Timon clamped Pumbaa's lips shut. "C'mon, let's leave the happy family alone." The next morning, the heir's presentation continued as scheduled. Timon and Pumbaa watched from a safe vatage point away from the cub. Often Pumbaa would repeat, "I wonder how he got back up here." And Timon would reply, "I guess it really could walk." They simled at Nala nuzziling her offspring. "And you gotta know who's going to raise him." Timon asked proudly. "His parents?" Pumbaa asked with a dry hope. The meerkat continued uneffected by his friend's reply. "It's gonna be like old times. You, me, and the little guy." Rafiki and the royal family were strangely amused by this. "It is a girl," the mandrill laughed. Timon and Pumbaa turned to each other in shock. "A girl?!" they cried in unison They fell back in confusion. Timon inched closer grabbing Pumbaa's ear. "then what cub was the one we lost?" he whispered in it. Pumbaa sat up. "I don't know," he whimpered. Suddenly the shrill voice of Zazu flew past them. The majordomom circled the audience of subjects announicing, "Now the presentation of princess Kiara's betrothed, your future king-" "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" A frantic lioness exploded with terrifyied screams. "My son is GONE!!!!" Below, worming her way through the stampeding feet of the shocked assembly, an outsider's tired paws found safety on the outcropping beneth Pride Rock. She smiled wickedly as King Simba and his servant Zazu failed to settle the masses. This pleasure was short lived though. Her eyes caught hold of something of a greater interest. "What's this?" she asked herself, "a cub?" Zira took in one more glance at the the outrageuos scene this missing cub had created, then grabbing him by the waist, sprung merrily back to the outlands with a fruitful laugh. The end (finally) This answers all the questions floating around lately. And Mufasa? He didn't die, he was abducted by aliens shortly after his fall, his butt was probed a bit, then he was placed back in the gorge well after the stampede was over. -Caji (sorry for any typos) Get your FREE Email at http://mailcity.lycos.com Get your PERSONALIZED START PAGE at http://personal.lycos.com