In the jungle of Maluba there lived a fly called Mozzie, and Mozzie could roar like a lion. He discovered his special ability while still very young, and as he grew up he travelled to the farthest reaches of Maluba, where no one would know him. As soon as he arrived he would let rip with his petrifying roar, moving here and there, frightening everyone. He would always use the same method, hiding behind bushes, and letting out a threatening roar; then he would quickly fly behind his victim and roar once again:

-“GraaAAARRR!”

Expecting to see a terrifying lion, no one noticed the little fly, who repeated his tricks time and again while making fun of his victims, saying:

-“You’ll never see me. I am Leon, the fastest and strongest creature in the jungle.”

-“See? I could destroy you with one swipe of my paw, before you even realised it.”

-“Are you afraid? You would be wise to be so, for I am the most ferocious lion there is.”

Finally, terrified, all the animals ended up accepting Leon the lion as King of the Maluba jungle. And so Mozzie started living happily. He had all he wanted, and when he needed something or he fancied a bit of fun, he only needed to get up to his roaring tricks.

However, one day, along came Tuga Tuga, a slightly crazy tortoise. They said he had spent years working in a circus with the human beings, a process that had sent him just a bit crackers. Mozzie wasn’t going to miss this opportunity to have his fun with a new arrival, so he prepared his usual fright.

But as soon as Tuga Tuga heard the invisible lion’s roars and threats, he began killing himself laughing…

-“Ha ha ha! A ghost lion! I once knew a ghost lion, as well as a bald donkey and a weasel with a pronounced limp… and what fun they were when they danced! Come on, let’s dance, little lion!”

All the animals began trembling, feeling sorry for poor Tuga Tuga. It was the first time anyone had dared to treat the terrible Leon in such a way, and surely the fierce lion would take no pity on the tortoise.

However, Mozzie could not bite or hit the tortoise, his only option was to continue roaring and threatening. Yet the crazy Tuga Tuga just kept laughing, paying no heed to the lion’s furious warnings. After a few minutes it was clear that the lion wasn’t going to carry out any of his threats, and a daring little bird joined in with Tuga Tuga, making fun of the lion. Mozzie tried scaring the little bird, but it didn’t work. Gradually, the other animals began to join in. Finally, all the animals were laughing at the invisible Leon, calling him things like: “the lion that barks but doesn’t bite”, “the King with no subjects” or “the phantom Lion King, the one that does nothing”…

And thus ended Mozzie's golden days of happiness; the fly that roared, that threatened, that lied so much… so much so that when the time came to keep his word, there was no way he could.