But at home, surrounded by their little ones, the case is different.  Those cubs, in the picture of the Lion’s home, are nice little fellows, and you might play with them without fear of more than a few scratches.  But where is the brave man who would dare to go down among those rocks, armed with guns, pistols, or whatever he pleased, and take one of them!

I do not think he lives in your town.

We never see a Lion looking very brave or noble in a cage.  Most of those that I have seen appeared to me to be excessively lazy.  They had not half the spirit of the tigers and wolves.  But, out in his native country, he presents a much more imposing spectacle, especially if one can get a full view of him when he is a little excited.  Here is a picture of such a Lion as you will not see in a cage.

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Considering his size, the strength of the Lion is astonishing.  He will kill an ox with one blow of his great paw, if he strikes it on the back, and then seizing it in his great jaws, he will carry it off almost as easily as you could carry a baby.

And when he has carried his prey to the spot where he chooses to have his dinner, he shows that no beast can surpass him in the meat-eating line.  When he has satisfied his hunger on an ox, there is not much left for those who come to the second table.  And there are often other Lions, younger and weaker than the one who has provided the dinner, who must wait until their master or father is done before they have a chance to take a bite.  But, as you may see by this picture, they do not wait very patiently.  They roar and growl and grumble until their turn comes.

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Lions have some very peculiar characteristics.  When they have made a bound upon their prey and have missed it, they seldom chase the frightened animal.  They are accustomed to make one spring on a deer or an ox, and to settle the matter there and then.  So, after a failure to do this, they go to the place from which they have made the spring and practise the jump over and over until they feel that they can make it the next time they have a chance.

This is by no means a bad idea for a Lion—­or a man either.

Another of their peculiarities is their fear of traps and snares.  Very often they will not spring upon an ox or a horse, simply because it is tied to a tree.  They think there is some trick when they see the animal is fastened by a rope.

And when they come upon a man who is asleep, they will very often let him lie undisturbed.  They are not accustomed to seeing men lying about in their haunts, and they don’t know what to make of it.  Sometimes they take it in their heads to lie down there themselves.  Then it becomes disagreeable for the man when he awakes.

[Illustration]

A story of this kind is told of an African who had been hunting, and who, being tired, had lain down to sleep.  When he awoke there lay a great Lion at a short distance from him!  For a minute or two the man remained motionless with fright, and then he put forth his hand to take his gun, which was on the ground a few feet from him.