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One morning after breakfast, Fred’s father said, “I’ve heard you children talking about the cat and the dog. Would you like to go with me to the zoo, to see some of the cat’s big cousins, and some wild savage dogs?”
The children could not speak, but they clapped their hands and shouted with glee. As soon as they were ready, off they started. When they reached the place, father led straight to the great cage where the lions were kept.
There were two of them in the cage—the lion and his wife, the lioness. What strange feelings the children had when they looked for the first time on these great fierce cats! It was a bright sunny day, and the first thing Fred took notice of was the lion’s eye.
“Look, father,” said he, “the pupil of his eye is just the same long narrow slit as we saw in the cat’s eye.”
“Yes,” said his father, “but if you could see it at night it would be wide open. It would look like a ball of fire.”
“What a grand noble head he has!” said Willie.
“Yes,” said his father, “the great shaggy mane gives him that noble look.”
It was the time for feeding the animals, and the children saw the man coming along with the food in a wheelbarrow. The lions saw him too, and they began to lash their tails and growl. At first, it was a low grumbling sound, but it got louder and louder. It ended at last in a roar that made the children cling closer to their father.
“What a mouth he has got!” said Fred, “and just the same long, sharp, cruel teeth as the cat, only so much bigger.”
The man came and threw in for each animal a great joint of meat, enough to feed a small family for a week. With a savage growl, the lions sprang at the meat. The children could see their strong curved claws as they tore the meat to pieces.
“Just think,” said the father, “of these fierce animals in the lands where they are found wild. They live in the forests and prey upon animals as large as the horse and cow. Sometimes they spring upon a man and carry him off in their strong claws. They sleep in their dens or holes all day long, and at night come out to prowl through the forests for their prey. One spring, and one blow from that great paw, is enough to fell an ox.”
Return to Elementary Science I
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