An African folktale tells of a boy who had lost his mother. Soon, his father was remarried to a wonderful woman who reached out to her new stepson with respect and kindness. But the boy, still grieved his mother's death and rejected his stepmother's attempts to reach him. He said harsh words to her and defied any authority that she tried to show as mother in the family. She tried everything she coudl think of to get him to love her, but nothing worked. The more she pushed and prodded, the more cold and defiant he became.

Finally, in desperation, the woman went to see a witch doctor. She told the witch doctor of her resistant stepson and asked her to make a potion that she could give him so that he would like her. The old witch doctor listened to the stepmother's story and then told her that she must bring her a whisker from a furious mountain lion.

The stepmother was shocked by the task she had been given, but she loved her husband and wanted to be a good mother to her stepson, so she set out towards the mountains where the lions lived.

She soon found lion tracks that led to a cave on the side of a mountain. She quietly walked up to the mouth of the cave and took from her sack, some raw meat, placing it on the ground. Then she walked a hundred steps away and hid in the bushes. The mountain lion, smelling some delicious meat, came out of the cave. He looked around for enemies and when he saw none, he devoured his tasty meal.

The woman came back the next day with more meat, which she again left at the mouth of the cave. But this time, she only walked fifty feet away and stood in the open. Each day for a week, she came back with meat. And each time, she stood a little closer to the feasting lion. Eventually, the lion ate from her hand while she gently stroked his fur. Finally, she was able to pull a whisker from his chin while he ate.

She returned to the witch doctor with the whisker that she needed to make the love potion that would win the affection of her rebellious stepson. But, instead of making a potion, the wise old healer told her this: "You do not need a potion to win the boy's heart. Instead, you must approach him in the same manner as you did the mountain lion: Slowly and patiently."

The stepmother followed the witch doctor's advice and worked hard to get a little bit closer to her stepson every day. By the season's end, the stepson no longer treated his stepmother like a dangerous foe. For the first time, the two saw the possibility of becoming friends and living happily together in their new stepfamily.