Rosa The Little Lion

Rosa was laying in front of the TV, flat on her belly. She had just been baking delicious cookies, and she was waiting for them to cool down. She made them with apple and cinnamon, she loved the smell coming from the kitchen!

Suddenly the doorbell rang. “Rosa, it’s Bella! She wants to play with you!” Granny said.
Rosa jumped up, and ran to the door. Before Granny could say “Goodbye”, Rosa was out of the door. Bella and she ran to the park, where the other friends were already waiting.

“Who’s the first to reach the big tree?” Greg shouted. They all galloped off to the big tree, and Rosa just arrived behind Greg. She looked surprised: She had always been the one-but-last, just before Bella!

“You’re really growing stronger and faster, Rosa” Greg said as they sat on the floor together to cool down.

Rosa blushed. She actually liked Greg a lot, and she thought that he did not even notice her… And now he was talking to her and giving her compliments! “Thanks, Greg”, she said quietly. Greg looked at her with his beautiful brown eyes. It seemed that he was seeing her for the first time. Did she see it right that he was blushing too?

Suddenly he jumped up. “Come on, let’s do who can roar the loudest!” he shouted. Rosa also got up, and opened her mouth. A loud roar came from all sides, but Rosa’s throat was silent. She tried again: Nothing! This was embarrassing… How could that be? She was old enough to roar, she had been roaring often enough before the summer. True, she had not tried for some time, but you don’t forget how to roar, her Granny always told her.

Her throat just did not do what she wanted. Not a single noise came out of it, not even a tiny little roar, it did not matter how hard she tried. Quietly she walked away from the group. They were so busy roaring, that they did not even notice that she went home.

By the time she reached her house, tears were streaming down her face. Grandmother opened the door. “What is the matter, darling?” she asked, looking concerned. “Oh, nothing Granny”, Rosa sobbed. Granny led her to the kitchen, and took her on her lap. “What happened, little girl?” she asked.

“My throat will not roar any more!” Rosa blurted out. Grandmother looked shocked. “Your throat will not roar any more?” she asked in disbelief. “Yes, Granny, my throat just forgot how to roar!” Rosa sobbed.

Grandmother was silent for a moment, thinking.

“You know what?” she said. “We’re going to ask the Old Wise Butterfly who lives on the other side of the river to help us.”

“That is very far away, Granny”, Rosa said. “Oh, but you’re so much bigger and stronger now, I am sure you can already walk that distance easily! Your little legs have grown and grown, and you feet are much stronger already then they were a year ago.” Grandmother said.

Grandmother packed a little basket with lunch, and off they went. It was a long trip, but Rosa did not feel her feet or her legs hurt. The last time they went to the other side of the river, her feet and legs were really hurting, but now it seemed that everything was not even half as far as she remembered.

Before she realised, they stood in front of the little garden fence of the Old Wise Butterfly.

“Come on in” they heard a voice, it sounded like little bells. And there they saw the Old Wise Butterfly, sitting on a giant Sunflower.

“So, Rosa, did you come to see me?” he asked. “What is the problem?”

“It’s my throat, Mr. Butterfly” Rosa said in a small voice. “My throat forgot how to roar.” The butterfly was huge with amazing colours. He thought for a moment.

“I will help you, Rosa” he finally said. “Do you know that you have little butterflies in your tummy? You can always ask them to help you. I will tell them to help your throat to remember how to roar. Now you just go home, and when you want to roar, you just ask the little butterflies in your tummy to help you remember how you have to do it!”

Grandmother looked at her granddaughter. “It is true, darling, Mr. Butterfly is right!” she said. “Mr. Butterfly, I want to thank you with my whole heart that you have helped us! I am sure that Rosa’s throat will remember how to roar with help of the little butterflies in her tummy!”

They went home, and when they arrived at home, Rosa was so tired that she fell asleep immediately. The next morning, she woke up and went soon to the park to tell her friends about her adventure. They all wanted to know, and she had to tell all the details: How far it was, how the Old Wise Butterfly looked like… And then Greg said, “OK; let’s do who can roar loudest!” Rosa took a deep breath and thought of all the little helper butterflies in her tummy. It felt as if they were all flying to her throat, and before she knew, she was roaring a big, super loud roar!

Her friends looked very very amazed. They had never heard Rosa roar so loud!

And Greg? He gave Rosa a big fat kiss on her cheek!