The Chameleon and The Leopard

The Chameleon and The Leopard.
By Hayley Finmore

Once upon a time, deep in the lush and leafy rainforest, lived a Chameleon. The Chameleon had an amazing ability to transform his emerald green scales to match not only his rich and exotic surroundings, but also the colours and patterns of those around him. His ability had earned him much fame and the Chameleon had long felt accepted by his fellow animals.

Lately the Chameleon had become a little weary of his technicolour talent and he began to realise that he was beginning to forget how brightly his own emerald green scales had once shone.

And so one morning, the Chameleon set out on a journey into the heart of the rainforest in the hope that he could recover his now unfamiliar self. The Chameleon walked for hours and hours. Eventually the Chameleon reached a clearing in the rainforest, in the middle of which was a giant tree covered in a myriad of rainbow coloured leaves. The Chameleon was mesmerized and he lay down at the foot of the tree and stared at the colourful canopy above him until he fell asleep.

A short while later the Chameleon was suddenly woken from his sleep by a heavy thump on his tail.

Standing in front of the Chameleon was a tall and magnificent Leopard.

“I’m sooo terrrribly sorrrry” purred the Leopard. “I didn’t see you lying there. You are almost invisible”. The Chameleon realised that he was camouflaged against the bark of the tree, so he consciously reverted to his emerald green.

“That’s quite a talent you have there” purred the Leopard “But you could have come to great harm”. The Chameleon explained the purpose of his journey to the Leopard, who listened with interest.

Slightly bemused, the Leopard exclaimed “It’s no wonder you feel so lost and exhausted, when you spend all your time trying to be like everyone else”.

“We leopards are famed for not changing our spots. I can’t imagine what I would do if I had your talent” said the Leopard, with a wry smile.

But before the Chameleon had a chance to respond, the Leopard had leapt off out of the clearing. And the last thing the Chameleon saw was the flick of the Leopard’s emerald green tail…