A man's encounter with a ferocious beast. |
The crowd cheered as the gate was opened and a lion stormed out. It bore its teeth, gave an earth-shattering roar, and then looked at me with fire in his eyes. It gave another roar and then began charging towards me. I looked around in all directions, looking for some place to run. The crowd yelled louder and louder as the lion drew nearer and nearer. Finally, I saw it. A stone pillar about 20 yards away. I began sprinting towards the pillar as fast as I could. I didn't dare look back and everything seemed to go in slow-motion as I drew closer and closer to the pillar. Hearing another growl much closer this time, I knew the lion would be upon me at any moment. Ten yards...five yards...two yards...the pillar. I jumped into the air and clung onto it. Up, up, up I went. I risked a look back. The lion was mid-jump, lunging toward me, with its jaws snapping wildly. I pulled my leg up just in time, and the lion crashed into the pillar just below me. The lion landed with a thud, and I released my grip. I fell off the pillar right onto the lion's back.The lion raised himself up onto its hind legs, gave a loud growl, and then began charging madly across the arena. The crowd cheered even louder as I clung onto the lion's back and hunkered over it like a jockey in a horse race. Finally, the lion flung me off his back and into the air. I did a backflip and landed perfectly on two legs on the ground below. The crowd roared. "Ladies and Gentleman...the lion trainer!" the circus ringmaster boomed through the loudspeaker. I stroked the lion's mane, and gave a bow. |