The Race

By Bibek Mallik

It’s King Leo’s birthday. In the forest, a grand race has been organised. The race is to celebrate the ever-lasting friendship between Mr. Tortoise and Mr. Rabbit. They had once raced together. That was a long time ago. The new race is among the most ferocious, clever and fastest animals: Bear, Deer, Dog, Elephant, Giraffe, Horse and Panther. King Leo himself is in attendance. The whole jungle is watching. To win, the participants are openly dishonest, disloyal and selfish. There are lives at stake and reputations at risk. The winner will take it all. How far and how low will someone go to win and what does it really mean to win?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zorba Books
• Release date: Dec 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9789358964974

Bibek Mallik

It’s King Leo’s birthday. In the forest, a grand race has been organised. The race is to celebrate the ever-lasting friendship between Mr. Tortoise and Mr. Rabbit. They had once raced together. That was a long time ago. The new race is among the most ferocious, clever and fastest animals: Bear, Deer, Dog, Elephant, Giraffe, Horse and Panther. King Leo himself is in attendance. The whole jungle is watching. To win, the participants are openly dishonest, disloyal and selfish. There are lives at stake and reputations at risk. The winner will take it all. How far and how low will someone go to win and what does it really mean to win?

Book preview

Chapter 1

KING LEO’S BIRTHDAY

King Leo’s Birthday

The word had spread. Every living soul who resided in the forest was aware of the royal decree.

The grand day was approaching. Only the wait of a few sunrises and sunsets, and then the whole forest would erupt in an explosion of happiness and royal gratitude, for it was His Highness, King Leo’s Birthday.

King Leo, the living embodiment of all that is royal and divine, the one true descendant of the Creator, the provider, and the epitome of justice and generosity.

The royal decree, dictated by His Highness, aimed to celebrate the legendary friendship of Mr. Rabbit and Mr. Tortoise by conducting a race among the animals of the forest.

All interested species could elect a member to represent their clan.

And, of course, the rabbits and the tortoises were not supposed to take part in the race, respecting the royal decision that their heads Mr. Rabbit and Mr. Tortoise, be made the judges of the race (it was also deemed necessary to keep the race as impartial as possible).

For the animals, the promise of a fitting reward was sufficient to arouse their interest and get them to participate.

All this happened days ago.

Since then, every species that was fast enough or thought so, had been making tremendous efforts to select the best runner in its clan. Consequently, the forest floor bore the imprint of countless sincere efforts made by the practicing animals.

Even a portion of the forest atop the highest mountain peak had been cleared and decorated with flowers of all sorts. A royal throne had been carved out and installed for His Highness, King Leo.

The rising sun cast long, slanting rays of crimson that bathed the whole forest in glory and heralded the birthday of His Highness.

The larks sang happily of his glory. The parrots squawked, the peacocks screamed, the doves cooed, the rabbits drummed, the ravens croaked, the donkeys brayed, the monkeys whooped, and the horses whinnied along with the larks.

But for some strange reason, the elephants did not trumpet. Nobody asked, for nobody really thought much about it.

The journey up the hill was a piece of cake for the enthusiastic animals. A road had already been made for the spectators to trek up to the clearing on the top.

Soon, all creatures of the forest: birds, animals, creepers, and whatnot, thronged the mountain peak.

A faint murmur rose steadily from the gathered spectators. Every face was wreathed with happiness, pride, and grand expectations. It was His Majesty King Leo’s birthday, after all, no