The Namaqua Chameleon Tale

Chantelle Bosch, 

a naturalist and photographer, living in Namibia, recorded a fantastic footage of the courtship behavior of the Namaqua Chameleon, Chamaeleo namaquensis...

She commented on the video: "NOT evereday or even every year you get a sighting like THIS! Interaction between a male and female Namaqua chameleon in-situ. He (greenish) obviously walked into her (pinkish) territory for mating time. She is trying to get him to leave, but he was exhausted from walking over a vast distance (a few KILOmetres - yes, you read that right, kilometres) in a couple of days."

The film sequence was an inspiration for a tale...

Once upon a time, in the Namibian desert,

A Namaqua Chameleon prince lived unobserved.

One night, an ancient queen appeared,

"My dear son, you're destined to take your place.

To be king of the sands, you must seek,

Your beautiful queen, though the journey is bleak."

Off the prince went, with dreams in his heart,

Through days of sun and nights filled with stars.

He reached the last valley, where beauty is ours,

Amidst flowers blooming, he found his queen.

Yet winning her love was not quite as it seemed.

With courage and patience, he passed every test,

Finally, she smiled, accepting his quest.

Together they ruled, their love intertwined,

A tale of true love in the desert, defined.