The Great Lion, answering the boy's question about why we must die, responded: "There is a small pinhole of light from this world to the next one. Can you see it?"
The boy squinted. "Barely. It's so small."
"Imagine trying to fit through it- trying to get through." the Lion replied.
The boy was puzzled. "No one could fit through that."
Lion sighed. “I have. Only I have the power to go all the way through and come back again. And it was even a struggle for Me.” The Great Lion spoke with a kind of low growl that made the boy take a few steps back. He wasn't exactly afraid of the Lion, but he was a smart enough boy to know that only a fool would be completely UNafraid. The Lion continued: "Even I was not spared, my boy. I had to first taste Death to get through. But that was long ago. Now on this large wall that separates the two worlds, on this most sturdy wall- there is but one hole through. And it's a mighty small hole, indeed."
"But, why not just knock the wall down? Why do we have to go through this?" he asked.
The Lion shook His head. "One day, this might happen- but only when Time is done. That is for another age. You do not yet understand. Don't feel bad, my son. Even grown-ups could not comprehend this. It would be like trying to teach Advanced Physics to a 4 year old child. The words would be there, but the heart could not fathom."
"Is there any other way through but to die?" The boy asked sadly.
"None," the Lion replied. "I will never lie to you, and if you ask a question, I will answer truthfully in as much as you can understand. Be thankful that there is a way through at all. But the light grows dim, and with time this hole gets smaller and smaller all the while. One day, there will not even be a hole. In that time, in that glorious (and for some most terrible) time, the wall will in fact finally come down."
The boy sighed. "Surely it will be much easier to get through THEN."
"No", the Great Lion replied with a most serious tone. "Then it will be the most difficult of all."
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