THE STORY
OF
MARJAN, THE ONE-EYED LION
&
FRIENDS

by
John Jetzt

One day Marjan met a big, grey wolf with black ears and black eyebrows and said, "Zah Marjan yam! King of the Zoo! Tah tsok yey? And who are you?"

The big, grey wolf with black ears and eyebrows politely replied, "Zah Sha-rira yam! I am Sha-rira! King of the Lee-wahs." And he smiled showing his big, white, sharp teeth and quietly trotted away...pa, pah, pahd.

There were many other animals who lived in the far away land. But they didn't live in the zoo like the rest. They were the wild ones that lived in the valleys and deserts and mountains outside the zoo.

In the nearby mountains lived the long-eared flying monkey-rats and the green-eyed high free-tailed ibex. And even higher up in the cold mountain air lived the high-mountain marbled pole cats and the bat-eared flying weasel pigs.

In the hot deserts lived the short-haired desert pest rats along with the two-headed mole-crested rock shrew. And even stranger, underneath the desert sands lived the long-clawed hedgehogs and the long-horned sand hares. The hedgehogs and sand hares would sleep all day and only came out at night from underneath the sand.

In the valleys lived other odd beasts. There were the three-toed giant jerboas who lived in trees and never touched the ground and the long-haired pygmy winter bats and the short-tempered short-horned flying squirrels. The winter bats and short-horned squirrels also slept during the day and could only fly at night.

One thing that all of the animals who lived outside the zoo had in common was that they were friends with no one. They were enemies of all the humans and the animals in the zoo, too.

The animals in the zoo, though, were all good friends. They loved Marjan, the King of the Zoo. He was kind and good. He kept the peace between all of the different animals. Marjan was also a friend of the humans. He even spoke the human language. This was very important because the humans fed and watered the animals. They also gave medicine to them when they were sick. The animals were very happy with their homes inside the zoo.

One day, Sha-rira the King of the Lee-wahs, trotted up to Marjan and his friends. He stood high on his two hind legs and said to them, "We have decided to leave the zoo. We want to live as free Lee-wahs. We do not want live in cages and eat the food we are given by the humans."

The big wolf smiled and then said to Marjan, "We want you and your friends to come with us! To live with us as free animals in the mountains."

"Ao! Ai! Wahey!," all the animals cried. And Marjan said, "We are happy here. The humans feed us well and give us water. We are protected here. We are free to visit with all our friends all over the zoo. We will not go with you!!"

Sha-rira stopped smiling and his big black ears laid back against his large head and his eyes turned the color of red, hot coals. He snarled at Marjan and his friends...ghru...ghrun...ghrunbedl...and they became afraid. He turned to the other Lee-wahs and shouted, "Hai! Hai! Zar-pah!" And all the wolves quickly trotted off through the gates of the zoo to live in the mountains as free ones.

Winter came to the far away land. The mountains were covered with ice and snow. It was very, very cold. The Lee-wahs had nothing to eat. They were cold and lonely living in their dark cave-homes. From the tippy tops of the mountains the Lee-wahs could see down into the valley. They could see that Marjan and his friends were well fed and happy and warm in their cages in the zoo.

One cold and dark night. The Lee-wahs quietly crept down from the mountains to the zoo...sha,shah, shlah. They chased away the humans who were guarding the zoo. They were very,very hungry. They came to eat Marjan and all his friends too.

Sha-rira was the first to sneak into the zoo. Mush-la the Mouse watched him from her little house. From the little window of her little house Mush-la took a deep breath and shouted out a warning to all the animals, "Hai! Ao! Ai! Wahey!"

Marjan awoke from his sleep and pounced on Sha-rira and with a mighty roar...GHRRUMBHAL... He ate up the King of the Lee-wahs and the rest of the wolfpack ran off...tash, tashted, tashtedal...into the night.

The next day the Lee-wahs returned. But, they came back with the wild animals of the mountains, valleys and deserts. The long-eared flying monkey bats and the short-horned short-tempered flying squirrels and the other flying wild ones flew over the zoo. They dropped big sticks down on Majan. The Lee-wahs outside the walls of the zoo threw stones high through the air. The long-clawed desert hedgehogs and the long-horned mountain sand hares tore down the walls of the zoo with their strong claws and horns. The three-toed giant jerboas, who never touched the ground, watched from the tree tops in the valley outside the zoo. Ush-ki the Camel and Struz-ah the Ostrich and Yaj-boo the Bear who could see over the high walls of the zoo, yelled out to Marjan, "Wahey! Look out! Hai! Hai!"

It was too late. The big stones and sticks showered down on the King of the Zoo...sha, shat, shatl. Marjan roared, "GHHRRUMBEDEL!!". His roar could be heard through out the valley. All of the animals rushed to help Marjan but it was too late. The stones left Marjan blind in one eye. The heavy sticks left him crippled too!

The Lee-wahs and the other animals from the mountains and deserts and valleys ran wild through the zoo. They tore down and trampled the homes of the animals. They ate as many of the animals as they could eat and then ran away and flew away into the dark. The elephants were gone. The gazelles were gone. The fish were gone. And the birds flew away.

There was nothing left in the zoo except for Marjan and his brave friends. They saved Marjan from being eaten by the Lee-wahs. At Marjan's side were Dash-tee the Tiger, Lak-mi the Monkey, Ush-ki the Camel, Struz-ah the Ostrich, Yaj-boo the Bear and even Mush-la the Mouse, who was almost as small as a flea.

Marjan was cared for by his friends. And over time, his blind eye turned into a twinkling, golden star. Whenever his friends helped Marjan, his blind eye would light up and glow. His star eye would twinkle and shine whenever his friends asked for his help and advice. Marjan's golden star eye would beam and glitter when he was happy. Marjan's friends still loved and respected him. Marjan was still the King of the Zoo!!

But now, there was one BIG problem. The humans were chased away by the Lee-wahs. There was no one to provide food and water for the animals. The homes of Tash-di and Lak-mi and Ush-ki and Yaj-boo and Struz-ah and Mush-la needed to be repaired. The roofs leaked and the wind blew in through the broken wall. Worst of all, there was no medicine to help keep the animals healthy.

One by one, Marjan's friends became sick. Dash-ti the Tiger big blue stripes faded away. Lak-mi the Monkey's long, curly tail shriveled to a stump. Ush-ki the Camel felt his two big humps turn into two little bumps. Struz-ah the Ostrich cried as his beautiful long neck get shorter and shorter. Yaj-boo the Bear saw his thick fur coat get thin and thinner and then go away completely. And even, Mush-la the Mouse, who was already almost as small as a flea, grew smaller.

The animals were suffering. They went to Marjan crying for help...."hae, hue, kah...help us Marjan!"

Poor old crippled Marjan. His star eye glowed and blinked and a golden tear fell from his blind eye. He didn't know what to do. He thought and thought as his star-eye glowed brightly through the night. Suddenly, he had an idea!

There was a little boy who came to the zoo every day after school. He rode a crooked little donkey. He liked to watch the animals. They liked to watch him too. He loved animals. He especially loved the animals at the zoo.

Marjan limped up to the little boy and stared at him through his blind, starry eye and said to him in human, "Zah Marjan yam! I am Marjan, King of the Zoo! Tah tsok yey? Who are you?"

The little boy sat on his crooked donkey and answered back, "Zah Omar yam. I am Omar. This is my donkey Yah-du."

"Omar, come down from Yah-du. I want to talk with you", demanded Marjan, the King of the Zoo.

"Oh! Ai! I cannot." Omar didn't move and his head slumped to his chest. "I have only one leg. I cannot walk."

Marjan's eye glinted and glowed and blinked and started to fade. "Hae! Hue! I am so sorry but we need your help," Marjan said. "The humans have been run off. The Lee-wahs ate our friends. We have no food, no water, no medicine and our homes have been destroyed. We are sick and hungry and cold and lonely."

Marjan's friends then started peeping out from behind the rocks and trees and bushes where they had been hiding.

They didn't speak human but their wretched condition broke the little boy's heart. Dash-ti the Tiger came closer. Omar saw that his big, blue stripes had disappeared. Lak-mi the Monkey peeked from behind a tree. Without his long, curly tail he couldn't climb throught the trees anymore. Ush-ki the Camel came forward. Omar thought him a strange looking beast without his two big humps. Struz-ah the Ostrich tried to stretch out her neck to look up at the boy but it was now too short. Yaj-boo the Bear came out from behind a big rock. Omar couldn't believe that his thick, fur coat was gone.

Down below under their feet, Omar and Yah-du, heard a tiny voice,"Zah Mush-la yam! Zah Mush-la yam! I am Mush-la! I used to be almost as small as a flea but now I'm smaller!" Poor Mush-la shouted and jumped up and down on the ground sending up little puffs of dirt around the hooves of the crooked donkey.

Omar looked out over the poor animals. He looked at Marjan and asked, "I can try and help but what can I do? I cannot walk! Oh, how can I help you all at the zoo?"

"You are a brave boy, Omar, and all you can do is try." The King of the Zoo's eye sparkled brightly. "Ride Yah-du to the West. Follow the big star which sets each night in the Western skies. There you will find the humans who have food and medicine. They will not be afraid to help."

"But how will I ever find my way back to you and the zoo?", asked Omar.

"That will be the easy part of your journey, Omar," the King of the Zoo said. "Steer Yah-du to the East and in the sky you will see a twinkling, golden light. My star eye will be shining and blinking to guide you home."