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Simba Rules, OK? is a magazine story inspired by The Lion King. It was published in three issues of The Lion King: A Nature Fun and Learn Series as part of the Hakuna Matata magazine series.
Synopsis
When a fearsome crocodile named Riptail hogs a river, it is up to Simba and his friends, Timon and Pumbaa, to defeat him.
Plot
Part 1
Simba Rules, OK? begins by introducing Simba, the self-exiled prince of the Pride Lands, and his two best friends, Timon and Pumbaa. At the start of the story, Simba and his friends are trudging through intense heat in search of water. Despite Simba's grouchy mood, Timon attempts to act cheerful.
Not long into their search, the friends find a shriveled river bordered on each side by mud. While Simba and Timon are put off by the long stretches of mud, Pumbaa is delighted and dives into the mud with no reservations. As Pumbaa wallows in the mud, Simba searches the banks of the river, wondering why no other animals have come to investigate the water source.
No sooner has he thought this when he sees Timon crouched at the bank of the river, drinking his fill, with an enormous crocodile sneaking up behind him. Thinking quickly, Simba dives for his friend and pulls him away from danger. Once to safety, the friends meet a troop of monkeys who explain that Riptail the crocodile has been preventing them from crossing the river. They beg Simba for help, and the young lion agrees to help them dethrone the malicious king of the river.
Part 2
Despite his determination to defeat Riptail, Simba finds himself facing a problem almost too hard to solve. As he stands brooding on the bank of the river, Riptail glides slowly by, waiting and watching. Timon and Pumbaa hover nearby, questioning Simba on his intentions, and inadvertently give him an idea when Pumbaa splashes Timon with mud. Inspired, Simba proclaims to his friends that they must lie in wait for Riptail and be ready to defeat him when he climbs out of the river.
The three friends soon abandon the river bank, with Riptail watching from the water. Satisfied that he has scared Simba off, Riptail slithers onto the bank of the river and begins basking in the mud. Unbeknownst to him, Simba instructs the monkey troop to make lassos out of vines and lie in wait in the trees. While he and Pumbaa distract the enormous crocodile, the monkeys wait for Simba's signal, after which they trap Riptail's monstrous snout and tail in vines. Seeing the crocodile helplessly tangled in vines, the animals begin to celebrate and fail to notice that the tree holding Riptail is beginning to weaken.
Part 3
After the attack on Riptail, Simba and his friends relax on the riverbank, basking in their victory. However, the peace is soon shattered when Riptail breaks free of his bonds and attacks the unsuspecting animals. The crocodile cuts straight to Simba, furious at the young lion for outsmarting him. The massive reptile manages to corner Simba on a weakened tree, but Simba lures the predator to him through taunts and steps on a broken tree branch, leaping free just in time for the branch to fall on Riptail.
As Riptail lies defeated beneath the tree branch, Simba approaches him, and Riptail compliments the young lion on his quick thinking. Simba tells the crocodile that the enmity between them must end and instructs the monkeys to set the beast free. In return for Simba's kindness, Riptail gathers his crocodile fleet and constructs a living bridge across the river, which the monkeys use to cross the channel. With his enemy no longer ruthless and selfish, Simba roars his victory, and Timon reminds Riptail that wherever Simba goes, he will rule.
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