The Lion and the Leopard

Epilogue

It was a beautiful day in 15th century China. The sun shined bright on the mountains. The sky was a beautiful light blue. Fluffy, white clouds dotted the sky. Tall, steep mountains formed a horizon in the distance. The mountains were mostly green, covered by moss, lichen, and other plants. Some were grey, void of plants.

In the valley of two of those mountains lay a snug little city. The city was called the Valley of Peace, for trouble was not a frequent (or welcome) guest. That was because on one of the mountains lay a palace. It was called the Jade Palace. In that palace lived not royalty or nobility, but Kung Fu Masters!

There were eight masters living in that Palace. Master Shifu, the stubborn red panda, was the leader and head of the Palace. Next was Master Leo Lung, the kind, yet assertive, asian lion. Then there was the Furious Five, led by Master Tigress. It's members included Master Viper, Master Crane, Master Monkey, and Master Mantis. They worked as a team, and played off of each others strengths and weaknesses.

Then there was the newest one. Po the Panda. He was a chubby fellow, and was always eager to learn and grow in the ways of Kung Fu. He was also the Dragon Warrior. He had gained his hard-earned respect after defeating Tai Lung, the snow leopard, three days before.

On top of one of the mountains, just a little ways from the Jade Palace, was the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom. Recently, when Master Oogway the Wise had passed on, the tree had lost all of it's beautiful pink petals.

But when one thing dies, another thing is born. The tree began sprouting little green shoots, until the entire top half of the tree was almost completely green.

And, sitting peacefully under that tree, was Master Shifu, Master Leo Lung, and Po. They sat on the edge of the cliff, still under the tree. They stared out over the cliff, watching the scenery before them. In their paws, they held bowls for dumplings.

They ate quietly. At first, Po had tried, and ultimately failed, to make small talk. So the three Kung Fu warriors simply sat in silence. The only noise was the wind blowing through the peach tree above them, and the sound of them chewing their dumplings. Po thought this was quiet awkward. He shifted around a bit, before Master Leo had flicked him on the back with his tail. The panda then came to appreciate the silence.

At some point, Po had run out of dumplings in his bowl, having eaten them all. The large panda hummed quietly, showing Master Shifu his empty bowl.

Master Leo Lung saw this and looked at his own bowl. Being a slow eater himself, he still had four dumplings left in his bowl. The lion angled his bowl over Po's, and poured three dumplings into the panda's bowl. Po beamed, and eagerly began eating.

Seeing this, Master Shifu gazed contentedly at Master Leo, who was one of his first students. The red panda nodded, a satisfied smile creasing his small muzzle. Master Leo subtly smiled.

Master Leo shifted and turned to look behind him. About 10 feet behind him, lay a little green sprout. It was a baby peach tree. The lion looked from the sprout to the tree.

A tiny, green sprout can grow into the most beautiful, powerful tree in all of Asia.

How fascinating...