The Cheeky Hyena
Once upon a time, there was a Hyena that was very cheeky. He always played tricks or pranks on others, not being aware that his mischief might hurt the animals. When he found out about pranking at a young age, he made it his everyday routine. At first, it wasn’t that harmful. Just laughs and giggles at his jokes and tricks. But overtime, he took it to the next level. Jumpscares, embarrassing pranks, you name it. The animals that were once friends with the Hyena started to drift away, but the Hyena turned a blind eye and just prepared more pranks.
One day, the teacher settled the kids down and announced, “There will be a zookeeper that’s coming this afternoon, and he needs a volunteer to take care of his giraffes, as they’ll be performing tonight at the stadium!”. Excited whispers emerged, but then a hand raised up. “Why do we need to take care of the giraffes?” The animal who raised their hand up said. The teacher’s face turned serious in the blink of an eye. “Because a hungry lion will eat them all if the giraffes aren’t watched.” Their blood went cold. “That’s why we need a wildlife volunteer when the zookeeper is preparing for the show.” After the teacher stopped talking, a forest of arms appeared, and the room instantly charged with electric desperation. The Hyena also raised his hand, but everyone thought it would be a long shot, his chances being as thin as a thread. But against all odds, he got chosen. Shock paralyzed the classroom, the teacher’s decision made them speechless. He got caught off guard, but shook it off and pretended to be joyous. “Alright, the zookeeper will be waiting for you at 1 pm. Now, back to our task.” The teacher said casually, not acting her decision basically caused an earthquake inside the students’ brains.
At 1 o’clock, the Hyena got driven to the zookeeper. The zookeeper welcomed him with a smile, saying, “Hello, buddy! I think you already know why you’re here, so I’ll be on my way! But before I leave you with my giraffes, here.” The zookeeper gave the Hyena a metal whistle. “If you see a lion approaching, use the whistle, and the rangers will come in a heartbeat. Got it, kiddo?” The zookeeper explained. The Hyena nodded his head. The zookeeper went off, leaving the Hyena with the giraffes. “Don’t worry, I will make sure every single one of you will be safe, promise!” The Hyena said. Hours passed, and boredom started to creep in. Part of him regretted volunteering. Besides, there’s nothing to do! The silence started to get the best of him. But soon, an idea sparked in his head. The prank was a one-way ticket to trouble, but he didn’t care. He sounded the whistle as loud as he could, and the rangers came rushing in. “LION!!! HURRY, THERE’S A LION!!!” The Hyena cried. When the rangers and the zookeeper arrived, the lion was nowhere to be seen. “Where is it?” One of the rangers asked. “It ran away when I sounded the whistle!” The Hyena said, covering up his lie. The zookeeper patted him on the back, praising how he was so brave. The rangers started to join in. The Hyena felt as proud as a peacock, forgetting that he made the whole thing up.
Not so long after the prank, the Hyena felt bored once again. So without hesitation, he sounded the whistle for another prank. When the rangers came with their nets, the lion wasn’t in their sight. “It ran away again when I sounded the whistle!” The Hyena said, spinning a web of lies. But, instead of praise, the rangers looked annoyed and just went back to their base. The Hyena felt a bit guilty, but brushed it off. When he turned back to see how the giraffes were doing, his heart skipped a beat. A hungry, feisty lion was preparing to attack. Fear sinked in, so the Hyena sounded the whistle once more. But when the rangers heard it, they said, “He really thinks we are gonna fall for the same trick again? We already know the tricks up his sleeve.” The Hyena can only watch as the Lion ate half of the giraffes, the other half ran in fear, never to be seen again. Once the Lion left, the Hyena broke down to bitter sobs. He can’t tell the truth to the zookeeper! So he ran and ran until he reached his town. From that day on, he never played a single joke, prank, or trick. He became quiet, but friendly. When his former friends saw he turned over a new leaf, they started to be friendly to him too! The Hyena learned that nobody ever believes a liar, even though they’re telling the truth.
The End!