Story: Mallory and the Mule

There was once a small child, his name was Mallory. Each morning, Mallory would carry his gifts to the top of a large hill, leave them, and would return home in the evening. Each day when he would reach the top, the gifts would be gone. Each night, Mallory would go to sleep exhausted, not a drop left to spare. But each morning, he would arise and ascend the hill yet again. 

“As the Mule says, ‘Bring your gifts and the Lion will use them.’” Mallory would repeat it day after day, “‘A long time ago the Lion gave us everything, so now we give him everything.’” 

Mallory wanted nothing more than to give the Lion everything. So day after day, he would bring his gifts to the top of the hill and day after day, those gifts would be gone. No matter how sapped his strength was, he climbed the hill. 

This, of course, was not the only hill. There were other hills all around. Some larger, some smaller. And every day, at every hill, Mallory could see other children climbing to the tops of their hills and leaving their gifts. Of course, there was also the valley. But no one who goes to the valley comes back. 

“The children die when they go there,” The Mule would say, “Stay away.” 

And so, Mallory would not even look at the valley. He continued each day to ascend and descend his hill, leaving his gifts for the Lion.

One day, Mallory was exceptionally tired. But still, he got up and began to ascend the hill. He walked and walked, one step at a time. At one point, he tripped, dropping his gifts along the path so well-worn by his years of hiking. He sighed. 

“Get back up and keep going.” That’s what the Mule always said. 

Mallory stood up, brushed himself off, gathered his things, and kept moving up. Eventually, after what felt like a year, he reached the peak and collapsed. Mallory was sound asleep. 

He rose with a groan. 

“I don’t remember walking home.” Mallory whispered to himself, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “Where am I?” 

He began to look around. With a start, he remembered. His gifts were still there at the top of the hill. The Lion hadn’t taken them yet. 

“Never stay at the top of the hill,” The Mule had told him, “Especially at night, no one is allowed to see the Lion come for the gifts.” 

“Oh no, I need to leave.” Mallory said. He began to walk toward his trail to go home. As he was walking, ahead in the sky he could see a giant eagle flying toward him. Mallory stood still and watched. The eagle kept flying toward him, getting closer and closer. Until it flew over Mallory’s head directly behind him. Directly toward Mallory’s gifts. Mallory turned to watch, though the Mule was braying in his head. 

To his shock, the eagle swooped down, clasped the gifts in his talons, and continued flying. 

Thrown out of his awed stupor, Mallory shouted after the great bird. 

“Hey! Wait! Those aren’t yours, those belong to the Lion.” 

“Of course they do, little one.” The eagle screeched back, “I serve the Lion.” 

Mallory stood at the top of the hill. He couldn’t think. He didn’t know what to do. That’s not how this works. The Mule said so. 

The eagle continued to fly and as Mallory watched, he saw in the skies many more eagles soaring between the hills, taking the gifts the other children had left. As he watched, they all began turning and flying the same direction. All of them were flying toward the valley. 

“Well I know one thing, they don’t work for the Lion.” Mallory began his hike to the bottom of the hill, his heart set on retrieving the stolen gifts. 

When he reached the bottom in the morning, he found the Mule waiting. 

“Mallory, why were you up the hill at night?” The Mule asked. 

“I fell asleep, Mule. But what I saw was shocking. There are eagles stealing all the gifts for the Lion and taking them to the valley.” 

“Certainly not, Mallory. We all know, the Lion comes and takes the gifts. You must have been dreaming.” 

“I was not, the gifts aren’t there. I saw the eagles take them.”

“Little Mallory, we mule’s know better. It’s just so obvious that the Lion takes the gifts. You were dreaming.” 

Mule walked away. 

“I suppose… maybe I was dreaming.” Mallory returned home. “Mule knows best, he is older than me after all.” 

The next morning, Mallory arose yet again, gathered his gifts, and began his ascent. 

He could not stop thinking of what Mule had said. “I must have been dreaming. I must have been dreaming. I must have been dreaming.” He would tell himself each step of the way up. 

Eventually, he reached the top of the hill yet again. In the distance, he could see the small dots of the other children at the other hills. Some already on their way back down, some just reaching the top, some not having even started yet. 

“Remember everyone, the Lion gave us everything a long time ago, just keep going!” Mallory shouted across the hills. 

He laid down his gifts and began to hike back down the hill. He stopped. The wind was blowing hard that day. 

“If it was a dream, then I’ll see the Lion tonight instead.” He hiked back up to the top, sat down, and waited. 

As he sat, waiting, he watched the other children ascending and descending the other hills. They all had such different gifts. And the children were all so different themselves.

“I wonder if they get as tired as I do…” Mallory mused. 

The sun set, just over the furthest hill, and the sky began to darken. Mallory’s pulse quickened. 

“Should I leave?” He asked himself, “Mule has always said not to be up here at night.” 

He could feel the hair standing up on the back of his neck. The wind was blowing again, even harder. 

“Agh! I’m staying. If I don’t see the eagles, I’ll close my eyes so that I don’t see the Lion.” 

He waited. And he waited. And after a time that felt as though the sun should rise at any moment, he waited still. 

“I haven’t seen the Lion or the eagles. Is none of what Mule said true? Or what I saw true?” Mallory began to worry, staring at the gifts he’d left. And he waited. 

An eagle flew over Mallory’s head, swooped down, and plucked up the gifts laying atop the hill. Mallory yelped. He then looked around and could see the eagles among the other hills. Then, just to be sure, he smashed a rock into his forehead to see if he was sleeping. He wasn’t. When he looked up, again the eagles were all headed toward the valley. 

He ran down the hill as fast as he could and when he reached the bottom, he waited. There would still be several more hours until morning. Mallory fell asleep. 

“Mallory, what are you doing sleeping here? What’s that big lump on your head?” Mule asked. 

Mallory, groggy, his head pounding, stood up. 

“I saw them Mule! They took the gifts!”

“Who? Again with the eagles, Mallory? I’ve told you already, you must have been dreaming. We all know the Lion comes and takes the gifts himself.” 

“I know, you said that, but I saw them! They went to the valley. I even hit my head with a rock to make sure I wasn’t asleep. See?” Mallory replied, pointing at his head. 

“I can see you certainly did hit your head, you sound like that’s the case too. But I’m sorry, Mallory, eagles do not come for the gifts. The Lion does.” 

“Have you ever been up there at night?” Mallory asked. 

“Of course not, we all know not to go up at night.” Mule responded with a laugh. 

“Why?” Mallory asked again, his face turning red.

“Now young Mallory, I know you think you saw eagles taking the gifts, but it simply is not so. As for this ‘Why?’ business, you should know better. You question the Lion.” Mule replied, indignant. Mule remained still, not moving. 

“Mule, you know I love you. But I know I saw the eagles. I’m going to find them and I’m going to get those gifts.” 

“You’re wrong, Mallory.” Mule said, standing still.

“I hope so.” Mallory replied and, turning, began to walk East. 

Mule remained where he stood. 

After a while, Mallory came to the base of one of the other hills while another child was hiking down. 

“Ah, hello, Mallory! What’re you doin’ over here?” said the child. It was Madigan. 

“Madigan, I have to tell you something, you won’t believe it. Every night, eagles are coming and stealing the Lion’s gifts. I’m on my way to the valley to get them back.” 

“Ha! Eagles, Mallory? What have you been eating? We all know the Lion comes and takes the gifts away.”

“But I saw it, Madigan!”

“Can’t be. As old Ox says, ‘The Lion takes the gifts Himself.’”

“Madigan, I love you. I’ll be going to the valley.” Mallory said, discouraged. And he continued on his journey.

Mallory walked on and on through the day until it was well past dark and finally, he reached the edge of the valley, a small ridge that rose over his head, obscuring his view of what laid ahead. He collapsed, exhausted, and slept soundly until the next morning. 

He began by walking around the edge of the valley, trying to see if there were any dip or lull in the ridge to see further. There was none. He would have to step up onto the ridge to look down into the valley. 

Sweat was gathering on his brow, Mallory felt his heart beating like a stampede of horses. Even to look into the valley was dangerous as Mule had always told him. But it must be done. The Lion’s gifts must be retrieved. After inhaling deeply, afraid he might breathe something in, he stepped up and looked into the valley. 

It was dark, like a shadow had swallowed the whole valley. He stood for a moment, petrified. 

“For the Lion…” Mallory breathed, barely a whisper, and stepped into the valley. 

After he had, he was completely enveloped in the dark. Reaching out his hand in front of his face, he couldn’t even see it. He stepped again and hit something with his foot. He leaned down to see what it was. He felt it in his hand before he could see it with his eyes. He lifted it until it was just in front of his nose.

It was a small stone, a pebble really. But the pebble glowed. It glowed enough that he could see his hand when he reached out.

“‘Only the Lion deals in light.’ This must be a gift for me so I will make it to the bottom. Thank you.” Mallory continued on and stepped again. Darkness. But he could still see the glow of the pebble. He heard a sound and froze. What would he do? He couldn’t see. He waited, paralyzed. Eventually, his heart stilled and he turned round 

Another step and Mallory’s head smacked into the side of something and heard something fall to the ground. He could feel the bruise from the previous night throbbing. He held up the pebble to see what he had run into. A tree. A tree? 

“‘Only the Lion makes things grow.’ This must be a gift for me to get back out of the valley. Thank you.” He reached down and picked up the stick he had knocked down with his head. And Mallory stepped again. Darkness. It was so thick, he felt almost as if he were dying. But Mallory was comforted by the gifts of the pebble and staff which he was convinced were from the Lion. 

A sound. Mallory froze again. It was like the flapping of wings. 

“The eagles! I must be getting close.” Mallory stepped again, deeper into the darkness. He felt as though he were on the very edge of death. 

Mallory closed his eyes, tightened his grip on the staff and the pebble, held his breath, and stepped forward. 

He waited. Warmth? He relaxed his eyelids a bit. Light? The tension all through his body fled away. He released his breath and inhaled. The air was sweet. He felt something on his shoulder and looked over. A dove. 

“Hello there.” Mallory said to the small bird, “Did the Lion send you to help me get the gifts back?”

The dove nodded forward and Mallory turned. 

There, in the center of the glade, at the bottom of the valley, surrounded by eagles, was the Lion. He was bright, brighter than the sun and ever been on the brightest day. Mallory could not believe his eyes. 

“Mallory, come near.” The Lion spoke. He spoke to Mallory. He used Mallory’s name. 

Mallory’s legs turned into jelly. He’d forgotten how to walk. 

“Come.” And Mallory stepped forward, the voice of the Lion moving him. 

“Come.” Another step. 

This continued until Mallory was right before the Lion, and he fell to his knees. 

“Rest.” The Lion spoke. Mallory fell asleep at the feet of the Lion. 

When he woke up, the Lion was there. The dove had moved to the Lion’s shoulder. The eagles were gone. Mallory stared at the Lion, sweating. The Lion. He stared and he waited. 

“Mallory.” 

It was the sweetest sound Mallory had ever heard. Mallory felt a surge of joy and warmth unlike anything before.

“Yes, Lion?” Mallory said, his voice cracking. 

“I’ve brought you here, Mallory.” The Lion spoke. Mallory’s heart felt as though the Lion had roared, but He had merely spoken.

“Why, Lion?” Mallory remembered the eagles. “The eagles, they’ve been taking Your gifts. I came here to get them back.” 

“I know why you came, but that’s not why I brought you.” Lion spoke, His eyes gleaming and warm.

“But the eagles, they…” 

“Mallory, listen to me.” The Lion spoke, not angered, but firmly. 

“Yes, Lion.” 

“The eagles are mine, they serve me. They take the gifts and use them to care for those all around the world, as I command them to.” 

“But Lion, couldn’t you do that yourself?” Mallory asked, confused. 

“Of course I could, Mallory. I could do far more. But I have made the eagles for this purpose and they delight in doing it for me.” 

“But Mule said You come and get the gifts Yourself. The Ox does too!” Mallory said, growing angry. 

“Mule and Ox I love, Mallory. But they continue on with the teaching they received from rebels in my Kingdom a long time ago. I’ll bring them soon enough. For now, I’ve brought you and I ask you to trust me. Will you trust me, Mallory?” 

“I trust you, Lion.” Mallory replied. The dove swept over to Mallory and rested on his shoulder. 

“Now, Mallory, look back up to the edge of the valley.” 

When Mallory turned and looked behind him, he could see all the way to the top where he had been just the day before. He could see all the steps he had taken, and where all the gifts he had received were. It looked so much longer than what had felt like such a few steps. In fact, it appeared to be as deep as the hill at home was tall.

“Lion, why was it so dark?” 

“Because to get here, Mallory, you had to walk through death. And you did with the help of the Dove. I gave you gifts to help you reach the bottom and I’ve given you gifts to return to the top and tell the other children that I am here. Tomorrow you must return to the top, but always remember Mallory, I am here. Come to me. Each time you must walk through death, but I will send you in my life. I am with you. Now, Mallory, rest.” 

Mallory fell asleep.

The final day, as he crested the top of the hill, Mallory looked back into the valley to see only the shadow. But Mallory knew the Lion was in the valley. Mallory now had a new love for the other children, deeper than before. A new love for Mule and Ox, deeper than before. But most of all, Mallory loved the Lion, who loved him.

And so, as Lion had said, Mallory went.