5th Column

How to choose a new King of the jungle
The time had come, after eleven long years of the reign of the Peacock, the beautiful bird, to choose a new King for the Jungle. The Elephant had declared himself a candidate long ago but the Fox had entered the race only now and was eager to win over the other animals…

"How do I get the support of all these animals?" the Fox asked his campaign manager, the Frog from the Nilvala river, who handled publicity matters for the Peacock not so long ago. "Promise them whatever they want," the Frog said, his large eyes gleaming. "But they all want different rewards in return for supporting me…" the Fox lamented.

"But, dear Fox, we are not talking of keeping those promises, it's just a matter of making those promises and getting their support…" the Frog advised, "remember, once you become king, nothing will happen to you even if they withdraw their support…"

"How can you be so sure?" the Fox wanted to know. "Remember, the Peacock promised the Wolves in Sheeps' clothing that she would abolish the monarchy and abdicate in six months and now it is eleven years since then and we can't still get rid of her…" the Frog observed.

"What do I promise the Wolves in Sheeps' clothing this time around?" the Fox asked, "they will not believe me if I make the same promise..." "Let's say we will abolish the monarchy in six years instead of six months, then…" the Frog suggested.

"But they also want all those deals that the Peacock and the Elephant struck with the Tiger scrapped…" "That's alright, we will say we will review all those agreements and mechanisms…"

"Are you sure that will make the Wolves happy?"
"I think it will not only make the Wolves happy, it will also make those yellow birds, those of the 'Sivuru Hora' type also happy…"

"But when we say all this, surely the Tiger will be unhappy…" The Fox argued.
"Of course yes," The Frog admitted, "but I think we have to decide whether we are to please the Tigers and try to get their votes or whether we should please the Wolves and the Sivuru Hora birds and get their votes…"

"Well," The Fox said, "I think the Tiger will support the Elephant anyway because he thinks he can get what he wants very easily from the Elephant…"
"Yes," The Frog observed, "so we might as well try to get all the votes of those who do not support the Tiger and the only way to do that is to agree to what the Wolves and the Sivuru Hora birds want…"

"But we still have to say something to the Tiger…" The Fox pointed out.
"Let us say we will meet the Tiger Chief himself for a discussion…"
"Alright," the Fox agreed, "but what of the cockerel and all the Trees in the jungle?"

"We can talk to them but frankly, I think it is a waste of time because they will support the Elephant…" the Frog said, "and they are not your biggest headache anyway..."

"What do you think is my biggest headache, then?" the Fox asked.
"Why, Peacock herself," the Frog said, "now she is beginning to do her Peacock dance and you know what happens when she does that…"
"Yes," the Fox said, "what the other animals will see is mostly blue with a little bit of green but not a hint of red, and that will make them think that she is not supporting me at all…"

"Ah," said the Frog as he swam away towards the Nilvala river, "with friends like the Peacock, who needs enemies?"
The Fox merely shrugged and wrapped his purple shawl around him even more tightly.

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