The girl conjures up an imaginary companion — a lion — who will join her on the long walk home from school. He will help her to pick up her baby brother from daycare and shop at the store (which has cut off the family's credit), and he'll keep her company all along the way until she is safely home.

He will always come back when she needs him, unlike her father whom she sees only in a photograph — a photograph in which he clearly resembles a lion. (From Groundwood)