Compere Lion going to Carnival.

            Once upon a time, in the Caribbean island of Haiti, there lived a ferocious lion.  He lived deep in the forest of Jacmel and every February during carnival, he would stand at the top of the mountain to watch the parade.

            What he liked most were the jungle animals: giraffes, lions, zebras, horses, cats and bulls. There were all sorts of animals in the parade. They were beautiful, in all colors and sizes. The Lion loved how the people would dress up as Indians, chaloska, en mô (dead people?), Hindus, an alèkin (harlequin?), and in folkloric costumes; some walked on stilts, some with big heads or big backsides; there are Madame Saras carrying baskets of vegetables on their heads, and the Mardi Gras character called ‘lamayòt’: colored devils with giant wings. Wow! There’s that music that he loves so much!  He loves to see the floats full of musicians playing their trumpets loudly, and groups of people on foot like the rara with drums that have special designs on them, and the long bamboos with hoarse sounds.

            Lion still couldn’t figure out why all these jungle animals didn’t live on his mountain. He only ever saw them during carnival. This year, he decided to follow them so he could go and live with them. More importantly, this year he was planning to look for a lioness because he couldn’t bear to live alone in the mountains anymore, with only the company of a parrot who talks too much and has lost all of his feathers.

            All of the lions had fled from the forest, since the charcoal merchants had cut down all the trees, stripping the lions of their shelter. He was all alone.  He heard on the radio that people should preserve the forests, but apparently it’s not a human concern, but only a problem for animals. While Lion was thinking about this, he heard:

“Squ a a a w k!”

“What’s the matter, Parrot?” Lion said to the red parrot who was missing half of the feathers in his wings. Parrot stood up on a branch of a sour sop tree, and said,

            “Well my dear Lion, when are you finally going to decide to go to the carnival? This carnival? This carnival? “Squaaawk!” said Parrot.

            Lion didn’t answer.

            “Squaaawk! My dear, go to the carnival, you’ll find a girlfriend. Then you’d stop complaining about being alone. Squaaawk! You’d stop complaining. Squaaawk! You’d stop complaining,” repeated Parrot endlessly.

“No way, Parrot. I don’t know anybody down there,” answered Lion impatiently.

“Ti moun ki pa kriye dòmi san tèt! (Kids who do not cry at night sleep with no heads).

If you don’t seek, you won’t find. You won’t find. You won’t find,” said Parrot. “Squaaawk!”

“Can’t you be quiet for a moment Parrot and stop quoting quoting proverbs at me? I’m not going anywhere.”

“Squaaawk! Looks like the lion is scared, or else the lion is coward, coward, coward,” said Parrot.

“That’s enough, Parrot. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! I am a lion and I can’t be a coward. I’m just shy.”

“My dear Lion,” said Parrot, “He who seeks shall find. Now hurry up and you’ll find your girlfriend.”

Lion was thinking about it while combing through his dreadlocks with his huge paw and he said,  “Ok, Parrot, I am going to the carnival.”

Parrot was so happy. “Squaaawk! Squaaawk!” He sang, he flew all over the place, like a bird that had swallowed an energy pill.

Now, Lion started to get ready to go to the carnival.  He took a bath in the cold river and rubbed himself all over with sour sop leaves that Parrot collected for him so that he would smell good.  He brushed his teeth with a dry branch. He put on some red lipstick like the ladies he saw going to church on Sundays. Then Lion stood up on top of the mountain so the wind could dry his beautiful black and yellow fur.  He styled his mane with dreadlocks.  He was happy. Lion sang while he was getting ready:

‘Here comes the lion, here comes the lion

coming from the mountains of Jacmel

Here comes the lion, here comes the lion

He’s going to dance at the carnival.’

He had been practicing Merengue and Compas (Haitian dance) for quite a while so that he could look good. But Lion had a little secret. He might seem ferocious but he is kind, and he is a coward. If you whistle at Lion, he would nearly jump out of his skin. But this year, Parrot had persuaded him. Lion told himself, he wasn’t going to be a coward anymore, he must go to the carnival.

Well! When Lion got to St Anne Street, looking dashing and smelling good. Man, he was so happy! Everyone was dressed up and dancing, either in the streets or on balconies, with their hands in the air and their hips swaying.  Every street was decorated with balloons and butterflies of all colors, tied together on a string.  All the big-shots with their own businesses hung banners from one balcony to the next to advertise; the aroma of fried plantain and pork blended with the ocean breeze.  It was amazing! The drums were beating their rhythms:

“Latam pim bow!

Lakatam pim bow!”

Lion made his entrance into the animal parade with one paw in the air, another paw holding his tail, dancing.  Lion said to himself, “Look how beautiful they are!  They’re all wearing make-up!  Wow! Look at that lioness. Her mane (comment: a lioness with a ‘mane’?) is pink and red, and goes all the way down her back.  Lion looked into the eyes of the lioness.  The next thing you know, he was falling in love with her!  The lioness’ eyes lit up; and when their eyes met, the lioness did not blink once. Lion said to himself, “Ahh! She’s in love, too."  Lion started to walk about, acting cool, he was wooing her. They danced side by side; they danced in each other’s arms until the sun went down, and continued for the next three days.  When the lion sang, everyone sang, too:               

‘Here comes the lion, here comes the lion

coming from the mountains of Jacmel

Here comes the lion, here comes the lion

He’s going to dance at the carnival.’

‘Here comes the lion, here comes the lion

He fell so deeply in love

Here comes the lion, here comes the lion

With a gorgeous lioness.’

After the third day, the carnival was over.  ‘After the dance the drums are heavy.’  Everybody fell to the ground, tired from all the dancing.  And then, everyone started to take off their masks.

Oh no! The lion was shocked. “They aren’t jungle animals, they are humans! Grrrrrrrrrrr!” Lion shouted. When Lion saw what was happening, he knew he had lost the lioness.  He ran as fast as he could, without looking behind him.  He climbed to the top of the mountain. He sat on a big rock underneath the only mahogany tree left in the forest, right across from the river, and wept.

“Squaaawk! Lion, what's up? What’s up?” said Parrot.

 "Oh Parrot, only God knows what I am going through,” said Lion.

 "Oh, so now you are quoting proverbs, it must be terrible!  Life is tough.  Tell me now, what's going on?  What's going on?” said Parrot.  "Oh, Parrot!” said Lion, “I am in shock.  I thought that they were animals in the carnival, but they were people."

 “I suspected that,” said Parrot.

 "Listen! I met a gorgeous lioness with beautiful bright eyes and a beautiful red mane; but she’s a human,” explained Lion.

 Lion started to cry again.

 "Grrrrrrr, han, han, han!"

 "Squaaawk! La resignation fait l'homme (resignation makes a man)", said Parrot.

 "Parrot, I'm not a ‘man’,” said Lion, “And Parrot, leave me alone or I’ll eat you."

 “Ah, that's a lie.  You tried already; my feathers didn’t taste good; and ‘a mother does not bite her offspring all the way to the bones, to the bones, to the bones’,” said Parrot.

 "Parrot, I am not your mother,” said Lion.

 "Poor dear. Lion," said Parrot, ‘having a big head does not mean you are smart.’  What I mean is that you're my friend.  We're like brothers. That’s why you'll never eat me." 

While they were arguing, suddenly, a soft voice whispered into Lion’s ear, "Why are you crying, Lion?"

 Lion lifted his head of dreadlocks, he saw the lioness with the beautiful long mane and big bright eyes. His heart skipped a beat!

“Oh, it's you,’ said Lion with a very stern voice.  ‘You are taking a chance coming here, don't you know that lions eat people?"

The lioness didn’t say a word. With two paws, she grabbed the mask and removed it from in front of her face.

Lion was stunned. He almost fainted.

“Oh, you are a lioness?” he said full of emotion, with one paw over his heart.

Lioness answered, “Yes, Mr. Lion.  I, too, thought I was alone. I came to the carnival looking for a friend, even if it were only a paper-lion."

 Lion was surprised.  Lion was happy.  He laughed so hard that the forest shook. He took the lioness' paws and started to dance Compas with her.  He danced all around; he sang, he laughed and danced nonstop.

Parrot was happy, too and said, "Don't ever lose hope because you never know what God has in store for you."  Parrot followed them; he flew all around, he sang nonstop.

Ever since then, each year at the carnival in Jacmel, if you look very closely in the evenings, in the light of the moon, you will see a parrot and two lions dancing Compas nonstop during the three days of carnival.

‘Here comes the lion, here comes the lion

coming from the mountains of Jacmel

Here comes the lion, here comes the lion

He’s going to dance at the carnival…’