Lion Cub

s t e i p p a H Lion Cub The

OlekSandr Shatokhin Translated By

Zenia Tompkins

us $17.99

In the savanna lands of Africa lives a lion cub who dreams of being a musician. But his father expects him to learn to growl menacingly and not play instruments and sing.

Will this lion cub really have to give up music to be king?

he

ies pp Ha The

is bl pu st Fir

d 2 20

ub nC io tL

in 1u

nd er

is Th

e th

ra r

ts

yo

re s

fC

er ve d.

No

pa rt

on

ас ли

py rig ht ©

ex ce pt

on gr es sC

ай щ

of

th is

Nu mb

22 2

віш

O

e r:

е

lek

fb

20

san dr

я

(H a

Man

Sh

at ok hin

d

in

76

Eng

r re p ro

uo tat io

ufac

he

20 22 b

pp ies tL

229 3 00 14 ISB N 98

lis

io n

sed o

rie fq

5T LF 1 0

itio n•

ле ве н

ma yb eu

ase o

32 42

Firs t Ed

ub

21

bo ok

in t he c

tro l

20

p on

st illu

A

Lib

ig h

co

Н

iti

& ra tio ns

ll r

ed

xt Te

ti

tle

54

lish

du ce

ns e mb o (HB )

b)

Tra n

d in

1

Chin

C om et

by Vy d

sla

tio

Pre

av ny ts

n©

20

ss L

LC ,

tvo

02 R

Bro

any

die d in

man ne r

crit 55-

ical

0 38

w ha

ok

lyn

Sta ro ho Lev

ed C

om

Tra nsla

: 97 8-1 -63 6

32

ture d in

Cu

yR ed

et

ted

,N Y

a( The O

Pre ss L LC

by

Zen ia

tso eve r wi

ar t i cles a

nd r

tho ut w r

evie ws.

ld L

ion

Pub l

ishi ng H

Tom pkin s

itten

perm ission

-1 I SBN (EBO OK) : 978 -1-63 655-0 39-8

a•R edC omet Pre

ss.co

m

ous e

), Lv i

v, U krai ne

s t e i p p a H Lion Cub The

Ole

Shato r d n a ks y t Trans la

ed B

khin

s Tom pki n a i n e Z

lyn ess • Brook r P t e m o Red C

In the faraway African savanna,

there lived an unusual little lion cub.

A lion cub who dreamed of becoming a musician.

11

“The future king of the savanna a musician?”

12

“That’s unheard of!” the animals of the savanna gasped in hushed whispers.

13

The cub’s father was VERY displeased.

Because a lion cub

T HT

O

O

UG

spend his time on real lion things, not go around making music!

15

A real lion ought to hunt.

16

18

And also roar loudly and expressively!

19

His father even composed a special list of virtues for the future king of the savanna.

20

21

But the lion cub didn’t want to hunt.

He dreamed of playing in an orchestra!

23

He didn’t want to roar like other lions.

Instead, he loved to sing.

24

26

No—no, the lion cub didn’t want to be king.

He dreamed of all of Africa drifting off to sleep to the sound of his tender and enchanting music.

27

The lion cub tried convincing his father of this, but his father was unwavering: “You’re a lion! Your calling is to be the king of the savanna! Period!”

Oh, how sad it is when no one understands you.

It even started raining.

30

31

32

But wait, what are these strange sounds he hears through the rattling of the rain?

33

As if someone was crying in the spooky, prickly thicket.

The lion cub instantly rushed to help.

35

It was dark and frightening in the thicket.

The lion cub was playing a tune to chase away his fear—when suddenly a fox pup leaped out of the underbrush.

36

“How did you end up here?” asked the lion cub.

“I was hiding from the rain and got lost,” replied the fox pup. “I got so scared! When I heard your song, I walked toward the sound.

Thank you for rescuing me, brave lion!”

37

“It was the music! But now we need to find our way out of here,” said the lion cub.

38

When the cub and pup crawled out of the thicket, they saw their parents.

39

40

The sounds of the music had led them to this spot too.

41

King Lion finally understood that his son had a big heart.

And that he was brave, like a real lion.

And also an incredible musician!

And among lions, that’s a rare thing.

42

43

Years passed. The lion cub grew up and became the first musician king in Africa.

44

And he was the happiest king because he could spend his life doing what he had dreamed of most.

45

Oleksandr Shatokhin

is an artist and children’s book illustrator who lives and works in Sumy, Ukraine.

The Happiest Lion Cub is the author’s first book to be translated into English.

Jacket Illustrations © Oleksandr Shatokhin Printed in China

RedCometPress.com

us $17.99 ISBN 978-1-63655-038-1

9 781636 550381

51799