Summary

The narrative of section five focuses predominantly on the lioness and her cubs. In the first of three excerpts divided across the section, the lioness introduces her kittens to meat. She offers them the belly of a porcupine and teaches them how to disembowel a deer. Later the lioness plays with her cubs on a boulder, and the kittens pounce on her tail as though it were a snake. Though the cubs eventually tire of their game, the lioness remains steadfast.

In the second passage, the lioness notes how her cubs have grown too large to catch beneath her paws and have begun accompanying her on hunts. During one such excursion, they encounter heavy rain that forces the lioness to seek a shelter higher than their current den. Though the kittens are growing increasingly aware of their surroundings, everything still fascinates them. They find...