Lion (eighth story)

When I was a little boy I heard many stories of lions. This story was told to me by the chief with the deepest awe. On Sundays when my brother and I had our school duties accomplished we circled the chief and would usually ask the same question to the chief. Which is the strongest animal: the lion or the elephant? The chief never, never would tell us which was the strongest animal. But one Sunday he told us the following true story. The people of Africa many times used to circle the huts with a palisade and the cattle would sleep inside the palisade. What happened, it happened many times. One night a lion jumped over the palisade a high, a tall palisade and a pointed and keen palisade. The lion was inside and killed a big ox, a heavy ox. What was seen afterwards was the lion catching the ox by the neck and jumping easily the palisade with the ox in the jaws. We can understand the awe of the chief. This deed of the lions was usual in the jungle. So, we shouldn't wonder when it is told the terror, the natives felt, was unbearable and when it’s told the roar, of the lion, fall the baboons of the trees…paralysed.