by Stacey HillGraeme was known as the greatest manedresser in his pride. Any time a lion needed his mane trimmed, Graeme was their guy.
That was until François came to town.
François had the fullest, straightest, silkiest mane you ever saw, and all the other lions were in awe. Everyone wanted a mane just like François, and François was happy to oblige.
Graeme was no longer known as the greatest manedresser in the pride. Graeme felt sad. Something had to done. He had an idea.
Graeme would challenge François to a manedressing competition and it would be called The Mane Event. The lion that created the most incredible, amazing, fantastical mane-do would win. When Graeme suggested the idea to François, his rival was happy to oblige.
When The Mane Event finally arrived, the whole pride gathered to watch. The rules were set. Each manedresser had 20 minutes to complete their mane-do on a fellow lion. The lionesses would judge their favourite after each round.
Graeme started off proceedings with a simple, yet perfectly executed perm.
François followed with a classic beehive.
A braid by Graeme.
Dreadlocks by François.
A mohawk.
A mullet.
The competition was building
It was the final round and Graeme and François were tied. All the mane-cuts had been perfectly executed but Graeme knew he needed something grand. He looked around at his surroundings and it was then that he started to notice different shapes and textures.
The rugged mountains, the shimmering watering hole, the narrow trees.
Graeme got an idea. The horn blew. The final round had begun.
Graeme stretched his paws and got to work. He shampooed, combed, snipped, layered and blow dried. He used every gel product he could find. Hair flew in every direction, his arms working in a frenzy.
Time was up.
Too afraid to look at François’ final attempt, Graeme observed the reactions of the pride. They were completely silent, mouths opened in shock. Worried they were appalled by his daring mane-cut, Graeme nervously looked over at François’ work.
He was shocked by what he saw.
François had created a complete replica of their homeland. The rugged mountains, the shimmering waterhole and the narrow trees. It was beautiful. It was a work of art. It was also exactly the same as the mane-do Graeme had created!
It would seem that Graeme and François were equally talented and no winner could be decided. From that day on, Graeme and François were known as the greatest manedressers in their pride. Anytime a lion needed his mane trimmed, Graeme and François were their guys.
That was until Michael came to town …
Stacey Hill's friends call her Stack. She writes, doodles, juggles, flies her toy helicopter and takes photos of her feet - just your average girl really. Learn more about Stacey at her blog skHILLed.
KBR Short Stories are a way to get your work ‘out there’—and to delight our KBR readers. Stories are set to a monthly theme and entries are due in the 25th of each month. Find out more here.