As the deadline for Loony to step down drew nearer, the confused fox grew more and more insistent that he was the true winner of the contest in which he was smashed to the ground before the very eyes of all the animals of Smiling Forest and the entire big wide world. He insisted that the referee had stolen the match for his opponent and that he was never going to step down unless there was a rematch in which he would appoint new, God-fearing referees. He lodged a complaint with the Supreme Court whose judges he would appoint from the neighboring forests of Sirali and Nigari to come nullify the results of the match and declare him the winner. Every day brought a new barrage of meaningless threats to never quit power from Loony. And every day saw him more and more isolated as members of his inner circle fled and members of his cabinet absconded to neighboring forests and issued statements asking him to accept the reality of his defeat and step down.

But Loony remained adamant. He increased the number of heavily armed foxes on the streets of Smiling Forest and bragged that he would fight to the death to safeguard the independence and territorial integrity of Smiling Forest. Having trampled upon the rule of law and the constitution of Smiling Forest for 22 years, Loony suddenly became an ardent advocate of respect for the constitution and the rule of law. He suddenly became a fanatic disciple of constitutionalism and frequently quoted constitutional provisions that he tried to tweak to suit his purpose of abrogating his opponent’s victory and staying on in power. But the majority of the animals of Smiling Forest called his bluff. The victor insisted that come the end of Loony’s term, he would be sworn in as the new president of Smiling Forest. Movements cropped up everywhere with defiant and revolutionary slogans like #SmilingForestHasDecided and #LoonyMustGo! A furious Loony ordered the Mental Surveillance Unit to crack down and arrest any animals seen wearing T-shirts with these slogans and to close down all radio stations that dared to talk about his defeat or any of these movements. Four radio stations were immediately shut down and several animals picked up and sent to Loony’s notorious “five star hotel.” Armed foxes that were thought to be sympathetic to the victor were also grabbed and taken to unknown destinations. But nothing shook the animal’s determination to bring Loony’s reign of terror to an end. The hashtags #NoRetreatNoSurrender and #WeAreTakingOurForestBack mushroomed and multiplied around Smiling Forest, encouraging the animals to stand their ground and show Loony that true power belonged to them and not to Loony and his brutal government.

But many ordinary animals were scared of war and decided to leave Smiling Forest. The once happy and peaceful animals of Smiling Forest suddenly found themselves displaced and becoming refugees either in the rural areas of Smiling Forest or in neighboring forests. They cursed Loony and expressed their amazement that Loony could be so cruel and hard-hearted as to want to hang on to power even if it meant bringing war to their peaceful forest. Whole families fled Smiling Forest and often had to beg for food and shelter in neighboring forests in an attempt to save their lives. Curses rained down upon Loony like a violent hailstorm, but the mad fox firmly shut his eyes and stuffed his ears with mud to make sure that he neither saw nor heard the voice of reason and the world urging him to step down, convincing him that his time was up and that the Great God Yallah had indeed spoken.

Just nine days to the end of his term, Loony’s evil plot to hold the animals of Smiling Forest suffered another devastating blow: The mercenary judges he hired from the distant forests of Sirali and Nigari refused to come to Smiling Forest. They declared that they were not ready to back up his unjust claim to power. Loony was more furious and confused than ever before, but there was little he could do as the lone mercenary judge in Smiling Forest Chief Justice Fagbe da Log declared that the court could do nothing unless it had a quorum in several months’ time. Fagbe da Log suggested somehow that Loony should just negotiate his way out of the mess he had created. But Loony, his teeth firmly clenched, decided to immediately launch another attempt at hanging on to power. He declared that he was going to make a law that would grant amnesty to any animal that had committed a crime for the past two months and that he was in fact a forgiving fox, a fox of peace and security and a fox who had the greatest faith ever in the Great God Yallah. Opening his horse’s mouth big and wide, he thus addressed the animals: “I know that some of you are running away saying that Loony wants to bring war into this forest. That is not true. I am a fox of peace and security. I assure all of you animals that peace will prevail. But only my own personal Supreme Court can validate the results of this match that that crooked referee stole for my opponent. The so-called Association of Neighboring Forests is interfering in the internal affairs of my personal forest, and they are declaring war on my personal forest. But let them come here. I will show them who I am. I will face them and fight them and defeat them so badly they will leave their shoes and flee for their lives. I will rule this forest for a billion years and if any one doesn’t like it they can go to hell.”

The truth was that by this time Loony was extremely rattled around both by the approaching fierce armed foxes of the Association of Neighboring Forests and especially by some strange stories making the rounds around Smiling Forest about something called “Dragon Fire”. He was particularly troubled that this so-called “Dragon Fire” was said to be ‘quasi invisible’ and had laser beams and other frightful capabilities for ferreting out its targets and incinerating them. Loony heard the strange rumors but was both mollified and petrified when he read about them from someone called “Winged Scorpion.” What do they mean dragon fire and winged scorpion? Whoever heard such frightful names? Loony shivered and his teeth clattered like plates as he sat alone in his big private room pondering these strange things. He was so shaken that several times, he got up and prowled around the room, shaking from head to foot and wondering just what they mean by dragon fire and winged scorpion. The latter name sounded particularly frightening; for while he was certainly no stranger to scorpions, the idea of a winged scorpion sounded too spooky for his rattled nerves.

Meanwhile, efforts by the association of neighboring forests to mediate the impasse and convince Loony to step down peacefully continued. The neighboring forest of Nigari, whose president was the chief mediator kindly offered Loony asylum if he agreed to step down. Less than a week before Loony’s term expired, Muhari the giraffe, president of Nigari Forest traveled for a second time to Smiling Forest in a last bid to make the mad fox see reason. But the animals of Smiling Forest were not optimistic. They knew Loony was a psychopath and psychopaths never see reason, unless it is reason that serves their own interest or reason backed by force or a very credible threat of force. While his victorious opponent slated to become the new leader of Smiling Forest in a few days sounded optimistic that the impasse could end peacefully, and said Loony could stay in Smiling Forest, many animals were skeptical and believed that Loony would only leave power if he were to be physically grabbed and forcefully dragged or driven out of power. Some of them reasoned that the Great God Yallah was a God of miracles and would perhaps perform a miracle that would make Loony accept his faith to become an ordinary fox again. Everywhere in Smiling Forest and around the world, animals hoped and prayed for such a miracle as they waited to see what became of Muhari the giraffe’s latest trip to Smiling Forest. The animals were not surprised when they saw Muhari the giraffe stomping angrily out of Loony’s palace, his mediation efforts having proved futile. In fact, Loony had rudely told Muhari to his face that he should go take care of the rebels in his own forest rather than meddle in the internal affairs of Smiling Forest. He roundly told Muhari and everyone in the Association of Neighboring Forests and the whole big wide world to go to hell because he would never allow himself to be cheated of his legitimate victory. “I will rule this forest for a billion years and if you don’t like it you can go to hell Muhari!” he angrily ranted. “You say your armed foxes will attack me. Let them attack. Bulay bulay bulay, I will show them who Loony is!”