CHAPTER 2: MORNING PRIDES
As the sun rises in the morning, various creatures awaken from their beds, leaving the tunes to echoing dreams. Like mountains standing next to rivers, and streams flowing beside fountains, so too are prides intertwined with hunting. Prides, in common language, relate to arrogance or recalcitrance, but what does the word "prides" imply in the animal kingdom? It's a different thing altogether – a case of polysemy. Everyone fears the prides, especially the giraffes, who can't forget their ferocious pounce.
Animals in the kingdom are hostile and detached, often remarking that their friendship with the prides is merely a death sentence. The power of the prides' trampling feet shakes the ground, not to mention their evacuating roars. "We're all fed up," the monkey said, casting a pensive glance at the lowly hunter.
The animals would often meet the hunter in a secret place, hidden from the prides. It was a concurrent disaster – the prides kept devouring the citizens of the animal kingdom. Some animals, particularly the packs, were frustrated. The packs maintained a strong rivalry with the lions' pride, and during tense conversations with other animals, they would say, "Let's destroy them at once," their tone brimming with readiness.
They all considered this the solution, but they needed the hunter to collaborate with their plan. "We're all ready," the hyena kept saying, laughing at the prospect of a breakthrough. However, the elephant's statement withered and collapsed the idea, leaving everyone shocked, including the seated hunter, who had been silent and indifferent to their aspirations.
The elephant's statement prompted him to voice out, "What's that statement?" "The prides are indestructible because they have a little father named Leo." "Who is the little father? How do you know him?" the hunter asked, pretending to be uninformed and indifferent to the name mentioned. But deep in his heart, he realized that his friend had mentioned the same name earlier: "my little father, the great Leo."
Other animals became intrigued by the hunter's questions, eager to know the essence of the interrogations. "And who do you call their little father?" the silent rhino questioned. The elephant replied sonorously, "My father often told me that when he was alive, he said, 'The little father made me a victim of the prides so that they could be fed.' Moreover, when my father told me this, I was furious and annoyed – the little father protects the prides from danger and makes them indestructible."
The words spoken calmed everyone, sounding realistic. They were all depressed and confused. The little dove asked, "How can we find the little father?" Although doves were rarely attacked by the prides, mostly due to their sharp wings, the fight of one was the fight of all. "Yes, how can we find the little father?" the hunter added.
That was the main issue – the secret of the little father who protected the imperialist prides remained undisclosed. They all concluded that the hunter should subtly gather more clues about the little father, given his proximity to the prides.