Spot, Splodge and Smudge (AKA: Someone is Telling me Lies)

Spot, Splodge, and Smudge are cheeky leopard cubs. Their favourite activity is winding their mother up by pulling pranks. They rely on their almost identical physical attributes and their sworn oath not to confess to responsibility in order to avoid getting into trouble. One day, this comes back to kick them in the tail as their mother has grown tired of their hijinks. After they refuse to own up to making a mess, she runs away to leave them thinking about what they’ve done. After a short while, Spot, Splodge, and Smudge start to realise that they’ve done wrong and that the consequence of their mischief – moreover – not telling the truth about it, means they’ve lost their mother – and they don’t know how long for.

The trio miss their mother and they wish that they’d just done the right thing from the off. It is only when they are threatened by a pack of hyenas that they really realise how much they need her and how much their misbehaviour has cost them. Unbeknownst to them, their mother has not left them but is hiding nearby, watching over them and hoping that they learn a lesson. When she spies the hyenas she springs into attack, seeing that the hyenas disappear, and protecting her babies. The trio’s admiration for their mother grows, and she reminds them that if they need rely on her, then she needs to be able to rely on them too. This means them giving back and telling the truth, no matter what they might have done.