Author's Note
Inspired by the Travel Butlers Story, When the Cheetah Cried. Follow the journey of a mother cheetah as she searches for her lost young cub in the Zebrican plans...and how she and her species gained their Tears of Black
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Tears Of Black
There once was a Cheetah on the Zebrican plains
Prowling through an area where no animal remains
Her eyes spoke with an unbearable urge
One that she was very determined to purge
But she was not doing this deed alone
Beside her was a feline that could have been her clone
A clone that came in the form of her son
One that could’ve been no bigger than a bun
It bounced and leapt all around its mother
Using her long slender legs as cover
Its eyes were full of innocence and mirth
The look that he always had since his birth
His mother watched with him with a look that was fond
One that was as deep and meaningful as their bond
With her heart beating with indescribable love
A type that was as bright as the wings of a dove
They trudged through the pains of the Zebrican savanna
The strands as yellow as a luscious banana
Walking past animals big and small
Even ones that were as short as they were tall
For what seemed like hours they searched the land
Which looked to be even dryer than sand
Trying desperately to find a meal
One that would help satisfy them a great deal
At least they finally stumbled upon their quarry
grazing under a sky that was every bit as starry
It was a herd of graceful antelope
Off at a distance requiring a telescope
The mother cheetah then felt her hunger spike
One that rolled faster than the tires of a bike
The feline inside of her demanded to pounce
Before the antelope even had a chance to even bounce
To sink her fangs deep into their flesh
Before the ground before them made them into a mesh
The mother cheetah eventually managed to calm down
And slowly began to hunch her body down
Creeping ever so closer to her prey
Relishing for their incoming dismay
Her cub silently stayed where he stood
Knowing if he wanted to eat, he had to be good
And not interrupt his mother on her quest
Least he turned it into an unnecessary fest
And spoil the hunt they knew would be her best
The mother continued to creep closer still
Thankful that she was not hunting on a hill
Until she was within range to attack
Positive that her prey would not fight back
She then let herself explode into motion
Hardly giving the antelope a single notion
They immediately flew as one
Joining in the race that was soon to be won
By the very cat that making it done
Shining as bright as the light of the sun
That chase was over before it began
With the cheetah on her prey with the strength of a man
The antelope struggled and kicked in vain
Grasping on for the life it would no longer obtain
But the cheetah silenced it with a bite to the neck
With the equivalent of a pirate crew stomping on a deck
The cub watched from afar as she took the animals life
Ending its time of fear and strife
Watching as it struggles began to weaken
Until it finally lost its hope-filled beacon
The mother and cub then began to feast
Letting the meat satisfy the inner beast
They then settled down for their nighttime rest
With the mother unaware of her incoming test
From not to far away stood a zebra stallion
His large frame looking him like a part of a battalion
He had seen the hunt watching from afar
In awe at how the cheetah ran like a shooting star
He eyed the club sleeping next to her, looking like a little stinger
A sinister idea beginning to linger
He slowly began to creep through the night
Make absolute sure he was out of sight
Not wanting to wake the mother
Least she spilled the life blood of another
Quicker than wind, he took the mother’s son
Thus, committing a deed that could not be undone
He then swiftly vanished back into the dark
Into the village that was larger than a park
When the morning came, the mother cheetah upset
Panicked in a way one can only bet
She realized immediately her cub was missing
The very same cub she thought she was kissing
She shot up to her feet and began to look around
For the cub she was sure she’d immediately found
The mother searched high far and wide
In trees, under burrows, and rocks that would divide
Crossing through territories of other enemy cats
Cats that could strike her down with the force of baseball bats
Alas, there was still no sight of her baby
Her hopes of finding him dwindling like the navy
As she continued to search, she soon began to weep
Her sobs wracking hard and coming up deep
Her cries echoed through the Zebrican wild
The heart-wrenching sounds anything but mild
They came out wild, loud and hard
Coming out sharp enough to slice up a card
Those that could hear it felt their hearts break
Hearing the pain that they wished they could take
The pain that would tear into any stony soul
And leaving them weak and hopeless as a foal
For many days and nights, she continued to cry
Her hope and strength slowly flying by
Leaving her a writhing furry grieving mess
One that wished to be relieved of her stress
As she cried uncontrollably, she was unaware
Far across the plains and trees that were bare
Her desperate wish was about to come true
With a type of help coming she never expected to
Deep within his village, the zebra held his prize
One that he knew would grow in size
And soon obey his every command
And make every villager follow his every demand
Fortunately, this hope would not come to be
For sitting not too far, relaxing in the tree
Was the zebra’s old, wise and kind leader
Watching him from afar at the distance of a meter
He saw the innocent cub he had in his hold
His ears picking up each word the zebra told
Of the sinister plans he had for the poor animal
Ones that were just as bad as a cannibal
With a stomp in his step, he approached the thief
Outraged that he went against the tribe’s belief
The belief of respecting all the wildlife
And keep them all safe and free from strife
Without hesitation the tribe leader exiled him from the village
Leaving the savanna plains for him to pillage
Before taking the cub and setting out on a quest
One that he knew would surely be for the best
He trudged through the plains and leapt through the trees
Going through the area with the vigilance of bees
All while the cub was nestled close to his vest
Soothed by the heart beating gently within his chest
They soon found the mother alone and cold
Looking like a torn and ruined piled of mold
Then the tribe leader made a move many would way was bold
One that proved his heart to be one of gold
When the mother saw him, she immediately began to hiss
But then her sure of anger soon turned to bliss
When her eyes laid upon the cub she thought was gone
Forever buried in the golden plains she walked on
With a spring in her step she ran towards the two
Filled with a relief the tribe leader surely knew
He watched as the mother and cub embraced
Returning their love in a way that was graced
The tribe leader watched on filled with pride
His heart leaping and bounding in length and in stride
With his job done, he turned to walk away
But a meow from behind him told him to stay
He then turned to look back at the elder carnivore
And she looked up to look eyes of the lone herbivore
Allowing him to see a sight that shocked him to the core
For on the mother cheetah’s gleaming orange eyes
Running down her face like the incoming tides
As dark and shadowy as the interior of a shack
Was the cheetah’s very first tears of black
