Lionheart: "Rise and Rise Again Until Lambs Become Lions"

 

Lionheart Soap $8 - This soap has a presence. Strength, sweetness, a bit of a bite, and warmth all combine in this spicy aroma. Hazelnut oil has astringent properties and tones the skin gently, while cinnamon leaf and brandy increase circulation and warm you up all over. Use this soap and be ready to face the day with courage. - ing. coconut butter, hazelnut oil, brandy, orange oil, almond essential oil, cinnamon leaf, Egyptian musk, cassia

 

"Once upon a time a newborn lion cub was lying with his mother in the jungle, resting in the warmth of the sun and his mother's fur. Suddenly, a loud noise rang out among the trees and his mother jumped to her feet. Startled, the cub tumbled into a nearby bush, then watched as his mother fell to the ground and several other two-legged creatures, rushed in and seized her. Too frightened to move, he crouched there as the creatures lifted his mother and carried her into the forest. A strange and fearful silence fell over the whole area, and for a whole day the cub didn't dare move from his hiding spot. Finally, his stomach began to ache with hunger, and, seeing no movement in the field, he ventured out and walked unsteadily ahead, hoping to find something to eat."

"After some time, he came to a clearing and peered out from behind a leafy bush. Before him, in the middle of a lush, green meadow were many other creatures - on four legs, with white, curly-bush skins, their heads bent low as they seized the grass with their teeth and chewed it. 'These creatures are eating, and they seem very peaceful,' the cub thought to himself. 'Maybe they'll let me join them.' As he stepped out into the meadow, one of the larger creatures came over to greet him. At once, the cub poured out the sad story of his mother, and how hungry he was. 'You're welcome to stay and live with us,' the creature said. 'We're sheep, and we can show you how to eat the grass.' The tired and lonely little cub was so encouraged by such warm hospitality that he thanked the sheep, and set about putting his teeth to the grass. Soon he noticed that the sheep had teeth that were very different from his own; he had to work very hard to grasp the grass and chew it. Nevertheless, he was a hardy little fellow, and would not give up. Before long, he had learned to squeeze his jaws - painful though it was - so he could pinch the grass and get it into his mouth. In fact, he became so fond of the sheep and so used to their company that he also learned how to open his mouth and make a 'baaa'a'a' sound; he even managed to prance somewhat with his wide, soft feet as they did with their small, hard hooves."

"Several years passed, and though he could never manage to eat, speak, or walk quite as the sheep did, the lion cub still enjoyed being one of the family. In time, he even forgot his mother and the terror of his first days alive. And then one bright and sunny day, while the lion was grazing peacefully with his sheep family in the meadow, a loud and terrifying shriek burst forth from the mother sheep. Startled, he and the others looked up in alarm. 'Quick! Everyone into the forest at once!' the mother sheep shouted. And without thinking, all the others turned and followed her as she darted into the thicket. The young lion naturally turned to follow the sheep - but as he did, a strange impulse stopped him. He wondered, 'What is making everyone so scared?' As he stood alone in the meadow, the mother sheep screamed at him one last time: 'Come with us immediately!' Again, the lion turned - but again, he stopped. 'It's too late!' the mother sheep shouted. 'We must leave you behind!' and disappeared into the woods. Alone and uncertain in the stillness of the warm afternoon, the lion puzzled over this strange turn of events. Shrugging his shoulders, he turned away from the forest where the sheep had run, and was about to bend down for another tear at the grass when suddenly his head jerked upright. A cold shiver of terror raced through his body as there, heading straight toward him, unhurried but deliberate, came a huge and mighty creature unlike any he had ever seen."

"It's feet were like huge, padded tree stumps; it's teeth were long and sharp. 'How in the world,' the lion wondered, 'did this thing eat? Surely such teeth could not chew grass!' Behind the creature stretched a long, thick tail with a tuft of hair at it's end. What seized the young lion's attention, however, was the huge bush of hair surrounding the creature's head and waving majestically in the afternoon breeze. With its dark eyes riveted to his own, the creature lumbered toward the trembling lion. The mother sheep, he realized in a moment of horror, had been right. It was too late. Yet a strange sense of inner peace held him there, even in his fear; he did not want to run from the creature. In fact, he couldn't take his eyes off it. At last, the creature stood before him. The young lion's legs were shaking as his wide eyes beheld the awesome figure. Then, voice rumbling like a stormy sky, it said, 'Follow me.'

 "As the creature turned and walked away, the young lion hesitated. Where in the world would it take him? An impulse arose to look over his shoulder to where the sheep had disappeared in the woods, but he checked it. And then he stepped forward, following. For some time, the creature walked silently ahead. At first, the young lion tried to walk in his footsteps, but his sheep prancing 

kept him from doing so. Before long, though, he found himself leaping, stretching with surprising ease so that times he even "caught" the creature's wide-spaced footprints. Still, he could only wonder at how much smaller his own feet were. Leaping this way, the young lion was drawn up short - and stumbled clumsily - when the creature finally stopped and looked over his shoulder at him. 'Come here, beside me,' it said. Trying to quickly right himself, the little lion stepped beside the creature, who now stood before a small pond deep in the forest. 'Look down,' it rumbled, it's voice deep amidst the trees. The young lion looked - there, on the surface of the water, he saw a small creature beside a large one. Tentatively, he shook his head - and the head of the smaller one shook too, stirring thin tufts of hair behind it's ears.
Puzzled, he drew back.
And then it struck him.
Hesitant, but deliberate, he leaned close to the water and looked down. Then slowly, he turned and looked at the larger creature towering above him. After a moment, he looked at the water again and stared intently. The forest hushed.
At last, trembling, the young lion beheld the creature beside him fully, with awareness.
Lifting his head, he leaned back and thrust his sharp teeth at the treetops: 

'R-R-R-O-O-O-A-A-A-R-R-R!!!!'

Borrowed from "Healing the Masculine Soul" by Gordon Dalbey