Thomas was a jaguar who wanted to be the King of the Jungle. But because Thomas was not a lion, no one respected him; they thought he was weak, and so he couldn't become the King of the Jungle. But he was determined.
He trained for years, growing stronger, faster. Thomas studied the behavior of the lions and even began to act like them. All the other animals thought he was foolish, trying to be something he was not. But that didn't snuff out his resolve. A certain Toucan noticed him, though, and he thought Thomas was the strongest, most determined animal in the entire jungle, even despite what everyone said about him.
Though try as he might, Thomas still couldn't become a lion. One night under a sky filled with magnificent, shimmering stars, the little Toucan came to Thomas and woke him from his slumber.
"If you truly want to be the King of the Jungle, you must first become a lion," said the Toucan.
"How do I become a lion?" asked Thomas. "I already do everything they do. I am stronger than they are, and my roar is louder than theirs, but I am still a jaguar."
"Follow me," said the Toucan. "And I will turn you into a lion." Excited, the young jaguar followed the Toucan without question. Little did Thomas know that such a thing was too good to be true.
The Toucan took Thomas to a faraway mountain, where at the top sat a giant temple ruin.
"Is this where I can become a lion?" Thomas asked.
"You will know soon enough," said the Toucan. They started their ascent, but soon they came upon vultures who guarded the path. One of them flapped its wings and said,
"Step any closer, and we will rip you apart with our razor talons!" He looked to be in charge. The Toucan feigned fright and stayed behind Thomas.
"I will take care of them," said Thomas, "don't you worry." Thomas stepped forward and bared his teeth, then he let out a huge roar.
When the vultures saw his sharp maw and heard his roar, they flew off screaming, "We never even wanted to hurt you!" But Thomas knew that he was the boss. The Toucan let out a fake sigh of relief, and they continued upward. Not much later, they came to a long bridge that spanned a hundred miles across a huge chasm, and it was guarded by wolves.
"Make one more move, and we will tear you to shreds with our sharp teeth and powerful jaws!" said one of the wolves who looked to be in charge. He snarled and snapped his chops. Again, the Toucan pretended to be scared. Thomas kept his calm demeanor.
"Do not fret, old friend, I will take care of this. Hold on to my back, and you will be safe." The Toucan did as he was told and held on tight. Thomas bolted forward, leaping over and past the wolves onto the bridge.
"Get them!" shouted the leader wolf, and the pack chased after Thomas and the Toucan. But it soon became obvious to the wolves that they would not catch them. Thomas left them in the dust.
"WOO!!" shouted Thomas.
"Hara!" said the Toucan. Thomas crossed the bridge; the wolves never stood a chance.
A little while later, they had almost reached the summit. But something was guarding the door into the temple, something big.
"You should not be here!" shouted the gorilla. "I will pick you up and throw you off the mountain!" This time, the Toucan didn't act scared.
"You better be careful," said the Toucan, "my friend here might throw you off the mountain." The jaguar stood on its hind legs and approached the gorilla.
"This is your last warning," said the gorilla, but Thomas didn't back down. He leaped onto the gorilla's back and started punching him. The Toucan kept his distance. With one powerful headbutt, Thomas launched the gorilla off the mountain, where it landed on the bridge. The wolves chased the gorilla down the mountain, where the vultures perched after. The gorilla, the wolves, and the vultures all fought each other while the Toucan just watched with a prideful look upon his face.
"Now," said the Toucan, "let's do what we came here to do."
"Yes," said Thomas, and they went inside the temple. Thomas saw a big ancient machine right there in the middle of the entrance hall.
"Will this turn me into a lion?" He wondered.
"Come over here," the Toucan said. "This machine will turn you into a lion." Thomas approached cautiously, still wondering whether or not this was real. The Toucan stood atop a strange metal pole that was connected to the machine, and Thomas stepped forward onto the platform that the Toucan had motioned to. "Now we will begin." The bird pulled a lever, and the machine whirled to life.
The Toucan suddenly seemed ominous and very frightening. The jaguar looked at him, but he only smiled with crazed eyes. Thomas didn't feel so good. It felt like all of his hard work and training were somehow being drained from him. Then he realized this Toucan wasn't friendly, nor was he ever going to turn him into a lion. He had let what everyone else said about him dictate what he wanted to be, instead of what he truly was meant to be. The Toucan was trying to turn himself into a jaguar, but at the expense of Thomas's life.
With all the strength he had left, Thomas bolted from the machine and grabbed the Toucan in his mouth. He ran out of the temple and spat him out on the ground. Thomas broke the Toucan's wings so that he could never hurt anyone ever again. He realized that it didn't matter how he looked; it didn't matter that he was a jaguar; he was Thomas, and he was the loudest, fastest, and strongest animal in all the jungle, and he would be king.
The spirited jaguar ran down the mountain. He came upon the other animals that were fighting. Thomas roared and dashed back and forth and stomped the ground.
"Stop fighting!" He roared. "This is no way to treat each other." The animals, having seen what he could do, obeyed and left for their homes.
When Thomas returned to his home, he was ready. He went right up to the Lion King and challenged him for the throne and the title of King.
"But you are just a jaguar," laughed the Lion King. "Only other lions can challenge the King."
"And why is that?!" spat Thomas.
"Because you are too weak, only other lions are strong enough, fast enough, and loud enough to fight other lions. If you really want to challenge me, then I will win!"
"Deal!" said Thomas, knowing better. "Let's do this!" The Lion King attacked Thomas without warning, but Thomas was ready. He dodged out of the way very quickly and attacked in response. All the animals watched in stunned silence as Thomas seemed to be a good match against the Lion King.
"Could he really do it?" They all wondered. Thomas prevailed. With a powerful bite and whip of his tail, the Lion King fell to the ground defeated, his leg badly injured and now blind in one eye. The Lion King admitted defeat and limped back to his den. Thomas roared a mighty roar, and everyone was astounded.
"He did it!" shouted the animals of the jungle. "Thomas is the loudest, fastest, and strongest animal in all the jungle. He is King!"
"See," said Thomas, "I don't need to be an animal I am not, as long as I have the determination, anything is possible. And anyone can become king."