Liono the little lion who loves flowers

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Liono
The little lion who loves flowers
Eamon Nancarrow
and
Teelin McDonagh-Nancarrow
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Copyright © 2011 Eamon Nancarrow
Copyright illustrations © 2011 Teelin McDonagh-Nancarrow
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or any
information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.
First published in the United Kingdom in 2011 by Showcase UK
www.eamonnancarrow.com
ISBN 978-0-9563900-1-1
Other Showcase UK publications include:
‘Holywood Star: the life and times of a rock and roll misadventurer’ by Eamon Nancarrow
www.showcaseuk.tv
Produced by
The Choir Press Gloucester
www.thechoirpress.co.uk
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Contents
The journey begins
5
The three vervets – monkey business
7
Petie the polecat – how to cause a stink
11
The panther Rosin Dubh – a rose by another name
15
Gerry and Geraldine the giraffes – a tall story
18
Bella the bat – a fly by night
22
Viktor the vulture – watch the birdie
26
Xena the Zebra – the crossing
30
Charlie the cheetah – in the blink of an eye.
34
Nora the elephant – making a splash.
37
The journey ends
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To Donna and Tara
from father and son
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The journey begins
Liono is confused. Not a good thing for a
young lion to be.
You see, Liono loves flowers. He likes running through a
field of them, breathing in the delightful scents and being
surrounded by all the animals of the grasslands.
Which leads him to another thought: why doesn’t he like hunting animals the
way his brother and sisters do.
One day Liono asked his mum: “Why don’t I want to hunt?”
“Son, it’s our job to hunt, its part of a lion’s nature. But you
are special,” she said, with a chuckle. “And the other animals
don’t run away from you. They aren’t afraid of you. They
love and trust you.”
Liono grumbled: “I would starve if my brother
and sisters didn’t hunt.”
“Your brother and sisters also love you and
they don’t mind sharing their food,” she said.
Liono was close to tears. “I don’t even look
like the other males. They all have lovely brown
manes while mine is yellow. And another thing,
I’m the only one that loves flowers!” The tears
finally came.
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His mum pressed her nose into Liono’s golden fur and whispered: “Just be your
own sweet self.”
“You always say that,” Liono sobbed. “I just feel so different.”
“That is not a bad thing,” she said. “You see things
differently. It makes you who you are.” Then she
asked: “Have you ever heard of the flower
named after we lions?” Liono stopped crying
and his ears pricked up.
“No, I haven’t!” Liono shouted. “Tell me!
Tell me more!”
“Well,” she said “it’s bright yellow and
called the dandelion. It’s a very special flower
indeed.”
“I’m going to hunt until I find one,” Liono announced. “But why is it so special?”
“When you find it you will see,” she said.
The next morning Liono was out of bed like a shot.
“I’m off Mum!” he shouted.
“Not until you’ve had a good breakfast young man,” she replied.
And even though a couple of gazelle legs were set out for him, Liono was so
excited he could only eat one.
Liono’s mum waved sadly as her youngest set out on his hunt for the dandelion.
She knew his journey would take him far and wide. She also knew that it would be
some time before she would see him again.
“Goodbye,” she gulped. “Take care.”
“Goodbye, Mum. I will,” said Liono bravely.
She smiled to herself, but the tears were impossible to hide.
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The three vervets
monkey business
Liono had only gone a short way when he
came upon a large tree.
“Monkeys are crazy,” he thought as he watched three
vervets wrestling in the branches.
“Hey there!” he shouted. “Can you help me? I’m looking for something!”
“Who said that?” demanded the first monkey looking straight at Liono.
“It was me! Liono!” a puzzled little lion answered.
“Well I can’t see you,” snorted the monkey.
“I’m right here,” Liono said.
“Pardon me,” shouted the second monkey, “what’s wrong with your right ear?”
“There’s nothing wrong with my right ear,” said Liono, stroking his chin and
wondering what was going on. So he turned to the third monkey, who had been
keeping quiet. “Can you help me?”
But the third monkey said nothing at all!
“This is so tricky,” Liono thought, “one of them can’t see, another has
trouble hearing and the third won’t speak. How are these three going to
help me?” This would take all the brains his mum had told him he had.
Then an idea came to him.
“Hey you, swinging by your tail!” he shouted
to the first monkey who had not seen him.
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“Who said that?” Liono was asked again.
“It’s me, Liono. I’m on a hunt to find the most
wonderful plant in the world. Do you know where I can
find it?”
“No I don’t. I haven’t seen a flower or plant in
years,” was the grumpy reply.
“Ah!” shouted Liono, “I bet your friend has. If you
face him and speak clearly I’m sure he’ll understand.”
“I’ll try,” said the first monkey. He then leaned into his
pal’s ear and yelled: “Are there any lovely plants around here!?”
“Lonely pants? What are lonely pants!?” his pal shouted back.
Monkey Flower
“No, no.” Liono told the first monkey. “There is no need to shout
Mimulus
and he needs to be able to see your face. Now try again.”
So the first monkey tried again but this time with a clear voice and
speaking face-to-face: “Have you seen any lovely plants?”.
“Oh, lovely plants! Why didn’t you say so?” came the reply. “There is a bloom
nearby that is more beautiful than any other. If you like I’ll show you where it is.”
With the first monkey hanging on to his tail for guidance, the second jumped down from
the tree, while the third monkey followed silently behind.
The three vervets and Liono, trailed through the undergrowth until they came upon
a pretty flower. But Liono was sure this was not a dandelion.
“Oh my! It’s beautiful,” he sighed.
“What does it look like?” asked the first vervet who could not see very well.
“It has lovely yellow and white petals with red blotches, and the longer I look at it,
the more it resembles a face. In fact,” Liono giggled, “it looks just like you.”
“Ah, if it does look like me, then it’s the one some folk call the Monkey Flower.”
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“Donkey?” snapped the second vervet. “You’re not a donkey,
you’re one of us,”
“I said monkey!” his friend squealed. “It’s a Monkey Flower!”
The third monkey who had remained silent up to then,
wailed: “Oh, for goodness sake!”
Liono could not believe it. “You can speak! You can speak!”
“Of course I can speak, but I’m a little bit shy and when those
two are arguing I keep quiet. Now how can I help?”
“Oh, thank you,” said Liono. “I’m hunting for a wonderful
plant called the dandelion. It’s named after we lions.”
“My friend, I am sorry to tell you, I don’t know of a plant
like that around here. Set off on your hunt again and don’t waste
time with us.”
“Before I go tell me, why do you stay with them?” Liono asked
him.
“Because they are special, they are my friends and I love them.”
And with that he leapt into a tree to join the other two monkeys who
were squealing and slapping each other over the head.
As he left, Liono felt a little wiser. He realised that although each monkey faced a
different challenge: one could hardly see, one had trouble hearing and the third did
not like talking, they helped each other out as true friends should. They were
different from each other but really they were the same.
“Goodbye!” shouted Liono.
“Who said that?” said the first monkey.
“What blue sky?” asked the second.
While the third shrugged his shoulders, smiled, waved and said nothing.
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Petie the polecat
how to cause a stink
Liono could still hear the crazy monkeys
squealing in the trees when he came
upon a small black and white furry creature scurrying
around in the bushes.
“That’s a funny looking little fellow,” he thought. “I like the look of him. He’s kind
of cute with those white stripes
up his back.”
As Liono walked over to
introduce himself the animal
kept his back to him.
“Hello!” he called, “my name is
Liono!”
The tail on the little creature lifted up and there was a ‘piffed’ sound. A
smell filled the air that made Liono’s stomach feel funny and his eyes
water.
“Aaaaaargh!!!” the little lion roared as he tried to bury his nose in the soil.
“What have you done? And what is that smell?”
“I’m not sure I know what you are talking about?” said the little animal, looking
puzzled. “I don’t smell a thing!”
“The pong! The pong!” Liono wailed.
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Liono can be
purchased from
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