Symbolism in "The Secret Lion" "The Secret Lion" written by Alberto Rios is a very strange short story that has a lot of different symbols. Every symbol emphasizes the change of the lives of the twelve-year-old person who tells the story and his friend Sergio. As the story goes along, the boys are becoming adults. This story is associated with growing up. The main symbol of the story is river, an arroyo. It illustrates their childhood, the place that never changes. It is the place where they can do whatever they want to do. It is a place to hang around. "It was our river, though, our personal Mississippi, our friend from long back, and it was full of stories"(43). But as