p. 730 | THE FRIENDLY LION

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Sep 25, 1893

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 19, No. 46.

THE FRIENDLY LION.

A CIRCUS and menagerie came to a certain city. In the crowd which always gathers about such an exhibition there was a man whose little dog had just been beaten in a fight with another dog. The man in a fit of rage seized the bleeding and suffering brute, and, hurrying into the circus tent, roughly thrust him through the bars of the lion's cage, expecting, of course, to see him devoured in a moment. The dog seemed to know his danger, and crouched upon the floor in terror. The lion fixed his gaze upon him, but did not stir, and the dog, at last gathering hope, crawled slowly towards the lion and looked up into his face, as if with a mute cry for mercy. To the surprise of the people, the king of beasts, who could have crushed the dog with a single stroke, gently drew the helpless creature to his side, and then raised his lordly head and neck above him like a wall of protection. Meanwhile the owner of the dog recovered from his silly anger, and demanded his property. "You put him into the cage, go and get him," was the quiet reply of the keeper.

The man drew near and called the dog, but the dog did not stir. He acted as if he had found a better master and was satisfied with the change. The man called again and again, and whistled and coaxed, and then he began to scold. The lion growled and looked so fierce at the man that he was frightened, and moved back from the cage. Then all the people laughed at him, and the two friends, the dog and the lion, were left in peace.—Selected.