Lion lying under a broad leafy tree on the savanna with birds, antelope, grasses, and fallen leaves.

Lion Resting Beneath a Leafy Savanna Tree

A calm lion lounges in the shade of a sweeping tree while birds cross the open savanna and antelope graze far away.

🎨 How to color it

Color the lion’s mane deep golden brown, his body sandy tan, the sweeping tree leaves olive green, and the far antelope soft gray-brown. Use sharp colored pencils for the many narrow leaves and mane points, then switch to light side-strokes for the wide sky and distant plains. Try making the fallen leaves near his paws a brighter yellow-green, as if they are secret messages from the tree.

The story behind this coloring page

The Leaf That Began Shade — Under the noon hush, Dara carried a silver-veined leaf beneath his tongue and padded to the only tree that made a cool circle on the dry plain. Read the full story →

Under the noon hush, Dara carried a silver-veined leaf beneath his tongue and padded to the only tree that made a cool circle on the dry plain. The leaf had fallen the night his little sister first roared; when he touched it, he heard that tiny roar again, bright as bells in grass. He wanted to keep the sound for himself. But the heat pressed hard, and the air smelled of dust and warm bark.

A hornbill clicked from a branch. “Why hide a laugh that big?” Dara froze. The leaf trembled, not with wind, but with music. He set it on the ground. Its silver vein flashed, and the tree answered: shh-shh-shh, leaf to leaf, until the whole crown rustled like a hundred cubs laughing. Birds dipped closer. Far gazelles lifted their heads. Even the grasses leaned in.

Dara laughed too, so wide his whiskers shook, and the sound ran up the trunk. Ever since, savanna shade has never been silent; it whispers any joy too large for one heart to hold. If you find the leaf near Dara’s paws, keep the secret kindly.