Education

She stood only a few feet from the ground. He, towered over her. Her weapons were sharper but significantly smaller than his. His could easily go through her, spelling the end of her reign. He was better protected by nature than she was. Better armoured. She had mouths to feed. Her little ones were tucked away in the protection of their home before she ventured out. They would be left at the mercy of the wild if things were to go wrong here. All of them. Toddlers. Innocent. Unaware. And if all this was not enough, she and her friends were outnumbered by these beasts. They were a handful of them. Pitted against a whole herd. Each of them capable of causing serious harm to her. Mathematically, logically, analytically, it was insanity to proceed. But they lay in wait. Patient. And when the moment came, she led the barge. And triumphed! The lionesses ate. And the seemingly unbeatable bison had been slain. Those enormous horns thumped into the dirt. The tough skin was now in shreds.

But none of the above thoughts ran though her mind. She did not think about any of the above. I did. She was not educated. I am. She did not do the math or the calculations of risk and chance. I did. She did not let others determine what she could and what she could not do. What was within her and what was impossible. I have. I am educated. I have been tutored and taught. To think and reason. And I am grateful that I am no lioness. For if I were, I would have surely starved to death. Because logically, I would not be big enough to conquer anything. Scientifically, I would be outrun by others who have more stamina. Outnumbered by larger herds. And bullied by bigger herbivores. If I were a lion, lion’s would have never been crowned ‘The king of the jungle.’

I am educated. Thank godness, the lion is not!