Tales

The stories told within Watership Down - of El-ahrairah, the “prince of rabbits” - all shape a rabbit’s identity and how they should live their lives: as tricksters outwitting and outrunning their many, many enemies. The tales presented in I Hope So serve a similar purpose: cautionary tales told to cubs, detailing how lions should live and what happens when these customs are ignored.

## The Tale of Bite Marks

> *A lion who thought he was the strongest animal in the land, and tempted fate with all the other animals. Feeling threatened, they all attacked him. He ended up dying, never learning the lesson of respecting all creatures or it could lead to death.*
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## The Tale of Cliff's Edge

> *The cubs of a pride were caught in the path of a raging crasher. Acting fast, the king led the beast away from his heirs. He was not able to outrun it. So he ran to the edge of a cliff, leaping across the canyon, just in time for the crasher to plummet to its death.*
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## The Tale of Graceful Wind

> *Long ago, there was a Traveller known as Graceful Wind. Her pride had died from a mysterious illness, leaving her the sole survivor. Graceful Wind did not enjoy being a Traveller. She missed her family dearly and, aside from that, everything was big and scary and lonely now. She missed the feel of somebody to cuddle up with during the long, cold nights.*
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> *One night, after finding a quiet place to rest, Graceful Wind awoke to find that she was not alone. A pride of Cacklers stood nearby. She was sure that they intended to kill her, being a lone lioness. Graceful Wind got away from the Cacklers and spent the remainder of the morning looking for some food, forced to admit defeat, she settled down to sleep as dawn approached.*
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> *Over the next few days, Graceful Wind tried and failed to catch her own food. And every evening, the Cacklers would leave her some food. In the end, it was not about her not trusting the Cacklers but her damaged pride in her failed hunts.*
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>  *After a fourth day of no success, Graceful Wind finally admitted defeat. She finally ate the meat that the Cacklers left her. It was the most divine meat she had ever tasted. The hunger and loneliness left her, replaced by a gratitude to the Cacklers and a desire to pay back their kindness. For the first time in days, Graceful Wind had a successful hunt. It appeared the Traveller had graced her for her efforts. She left the meat for the wary Cacklers who helped her.*
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> *Eventually, Graceful Wind met another Traveller with some cubs and they both raised them together, teaching them and their grandchildren and so on to always leave some meat for the Cacklers that saved their ancestor's life. From that moment on, the teachings of Graceful Wind was passed down to all Travellers: the Cacklers eat, breath, and live as we do. They feel. They love. All our hearts beat the same. The same blood runs through our veins. All creatures live beneath the Traveller's light, and nobody should ever cast them out of it.*
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## The Tale of Healing Water

> *A lioness was desperately looking for ways to heal the weak and injured of her pride. She climbed to the highest mountain, and to give the healing her pride and others needed, she turned into a spring of hot water that heals all wounds.*
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## The Tale of King Exhile

> *Long ago, a king ruled over the land, a king so terrible, his own pride rebelled against him. They would chase him away. But every time he would return from banishment, and steal their prey. The pride decided the only way to be rid of him, was to kill him.*
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## The Tale of Lake's Reflection

> *A lioness who had so many troubles on her mind, she didn't know what to do. No matter who she talked to, she just ended up having more questions. One day, she peered into a lake and found her soul. She talked to it, and found clear answers to all of her problems.*
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## The Tale of Lazy Blood

> *A lion decided to go for the easiest prey—Bellows—the big slow animals that are often seen with Upwalkers. He paid the price for being lazy and was shot and killed.*
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## The Tale of Light of Day

> *A young Traveller explored a cave she had never been in before. She ended up becoming trapped by a terrible rockslide. She was able to survive and escaped by using the light shone by the Great King to find an exit. As she became older and wiser, she renamed herself Light of Day.*
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## The Tale of Little Thunder

> *A small lion who roared to war animals in the distance of the oncoming monsoon. They're seen as a hero because the monsoon could've killed many.*
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## The Tale of Night Eyes

> *A lioness who demanded to see the Great King herself. He warned her not to look at him. She climbed the highest mountain in the land. He took her vision after seeing his true form. The Traveller took pity on her making her other senses stronger.*
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## The Tale of Plume of Smoke

> *A lion who threw himself into a bush fire, to turn himself into a large plume of smoke to warn everyone in the land to run away from him to find safety.*
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## The Tale of Queen Saga

> *She already knew everything about her own kingdom. But when Travellers would come to visit she would want to hear everything about their journeys. It inspired her to leave her pride to learn and to spread knowledge. And every year she would return to her pride to share her stories.*
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## The Tale of Rain in Summer

> *A lioness who was struggling to survive during an unusually harsh dry season. All the normal spots where the rains gathered were dried up. She became so hot and frustrated, she roared as loud as she could at the clouds, until they brought enough rain to last everyone the rest of the season.*
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## The Tale of Walking Through Dreams

> *A lioness who had some of her greatest adventures in her dreams. Some of these dreams included her flying through the air, some were conversations with the Great King or the Traveller, some were of places she'd never seen before. She would tell everyone about these dreams, and she is why people remember theirs.*
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