The Lion simply called "Lion" is a circus lion, displayed in a cage where everyone's afraid of him. His only friend is Oscar Diggs, an eccentric and just balloonist, who lets Lion out of his cage and takes him up on his balloon. While they're up there, Oscar gives Lion a Badge of Courage for coming up on his balloon, but they are soon caught in a storm which drags them to the Land of Oz. Lion falls from the balloon and Oscar can't stop it from leaving and carrying him off. He reminds Lion that they’ll meet again and "true friends can never be lost" before he is carried away.