Der Löwenanteil
Series: Books on Demand
Publisher: LASSO-Würzburg
Published: 03. 2003
Place of publication: Würzburg
Format: 12 x 19
Number of pages: 120
Copyright date: 03. 2003
Genres: Novelle
First sentence: Das Gras der niederbayerischen Sommerwiese gibt ihm wenig Deckung.
Description: Ein vegetarischer Löwe entkommt einem Kleinzirkus in Niederbayern, bei dem er mit dem Selbstverständnis lebte, der einzige Löwe auf der Welt zu sein. Auf der Flucht hält sich der Löwe in der Nähe eines Dorfes auf, das heimlich Hanf anbaut. Das Dorf fühlt sich mehr durch die polizeiliche Suche nach dem Löwen als durch diesen selbst bedroht. Ein Reh, das zur Gefährtin des Löwen wird, rettet ihn vor den Jägern. "Der König der Tiere" als tumber Tor in einer niederbayerischen Landschaft erkennt, dass seine bislang gewonnenen Freiheit nur ein größerer Käfig war. Ein kleines Mädchen, das in der Lage zu sein scheint, mit der Absurdität eines vegetarischen Löwen ganz normal umgehen zu können, zeigt diesem schließlich den Weg in eine ungewisse Freiheit.
Notes: A solitary lion escapes from a small provincial circus to the rural area of lower Bavaria. Tormented by hunger he discovers his vegetarian inclination and relishes the joys of corn, apples and plums growing richly at a nearby village. The local farmers, however, trace and hunt the beast not for the trophy but rather to prevent the police and any professional hunters from stumbling over their illegal marihuana fields secretly embedded into their the corn fields. The lion escapes the hunt, albeit wounded, and retreats into the forest. A roe-deer finds the wounded "King of the animals" and she tenderly looks after him. The recovering lion and his "nurse" develop a relationship the forest has never seen before.
On his excursion for food the lion discovers his favourite dish: Tomatoes. By coincidence observing the lion, a sheep-farmer cunningly exploits the lion's weakness and locks him up in a barn. Whilst the village council is pondering how to dispose of the beast without any public fuss, the imprisoned lion accidently topples over a stack of old journals and discovers in one of the journals the photo-print report about a lion-safari in Africa. He realises instantly that he is not the only creature of his kind in this world and falls into an identity crisis.
A little girl sneaks into his prison without any fear and urges him to follow the zenith of the sun to land of the lions, and sets him free. On his search for his female companion he turns up jast in time to save her from the fangs of two poaching shepherd dogs. As a vegetarian, he is shocked by the passionate carnage he committed for love.
Weeks later a zoologist on his family outing in the lower Alps, discovers to his astonishment fresh marks of lion's paws accompanied by a deer trail, leading southwards into the mountains. No explanation was ever found for this.

Only the reader may sense the deeper tragedy of this odd story, namely the "King of the animals" innocently  discovering the facts of life whilst persueing the illusion of freedom.