The Taming of the Great Lion

I wrote this piece for a scriptwriting class assignment. The assignment was to write a screenplay based upon a certain tarot card. Enjoy and please comment!

The Taming of The Great Lion

It is dusk. The Tamer of Lions sat with his legs crossed and back to a deep precipice. A Great Male Lion enters and sits across from him, studying him..

Tamer: “I will pass your test yet! I have not fallen, though wind has blown, hail has

battered, and cold has bitten me.”

Great Male Lion: “You hav been sitting but 10 minutes, oh Tamer, but I have

lived, eaten, slept, mated, killed, ran, played…where was I? Oh, yes I have endured where you have just sat in your longing to prove yourself to me, the mightiest of Males.

The Great Male Lion stares mightily down at the Tamer, licking his lips. The Tamer inches closer to the cliffs.

Tamer: “What then, can I do to prove myself to you?”

Great Male Lion: “You can wrestle with me until I decide the winner.”

Tamer: “That hardly seems fair…How can you fight me and also name yourself a judge?”

Great Male Lion: “Because I am the Great Male Lion and it is you who are proving

something to me; I have nothing to prove.

The Lion and the Tamer stand, facing each other in preparation of a duel. The Tamer reaches for a knife on his belt.

            “You would prove the worthiness of sharp metal, rather than your own mettle?”

Both examine the blade, the Lion with a bored distaste, the Tamer with deep longing.

Tamer: “You have a point I suppose, if I am to prove myself as strong as you, Lion…”

Great Male Lion: “Great Male Lion”

Tamer: I apologize, oh Powerful One; it will be a true wrestling match. Should we at least

move away from this precipice? ”

Great Male Lion: “Anyone can fall from a cliff to his death, but that is a weak death. If

            you truly have it in your heart to gain my approval, Tamer, then you would fight

me on the edge. A brave man would rather die at my teeth than jump and wait

for the river at the bottom to swallow him.

The pair begins to circle each other. The Tamer barely misses the edge of the cliff with a poor step and darts forward to catch himself, when the Great Male Lion’s teeth bear down on his arm. The Tamer grasps his mane and throws the Great beast down at his feet. Overpowered by fury at this offense, The Great Male Lion then devours the tamer in three bites.

Licking his bloody chops. The Great Male Lion: “The Tamer has certainly gained my

approval! My only sorrow is that my approval could have lasted longer.

End Scene.