Lion on the Loose
By Winifred Sadlier
Copyright 2011 Winifred Sadlier
Smashwords Edition
****
‘I’ve got a surprise for you,’ said Mummy.
Mitchell smiled.
A surprise usually meant something nice.
‘Gran and Grandad are
coming for a visit and then we’re all going to the zoo.’
‘The
zoo!’ exclaimed Rachel, clapping her hands. Rachel was Mitchell’s
older sister. ‘Its good fun, you’ll see the lions,’ she assured
Mitchell.
‘Grrrrrrrrrrrr’, growled Mitchell.
‘Yes,
that’s what the lion might say to you,’ said Mummy.
One of Mitchell’s favourite games was to pretend to be a lion. He’d crawl under the table and give a loud roar when people walked past. His other favourite game was playing with his toy cars. His favourite cars were a fast yellow Ferrari and a Bright blue Barina. Mitchell never left the house without them.
‘Finish your breakfast and get dressed Mitchell,’ said Mummy. ‘Then you can choose some cars to take to the zoo. Not too many though.’
Rachel was watching out the window for Gran and Grandad. She wanted to tell them about the trip to the zoo.
‘They’re here,’ shouted Rachel, running to let them in. It was a special treat when Gran and Grandad came for a visit. Sometimes they brought gifts. Today they gave Rachel some coloured pencils and Mitchell a toy car. It was a powerful purple Porsche.
The new Porsche immediately became a favourite and Mitchell began playing with it, forgetting all about getting dressed.
Finally they were ready to leave for the zoo. ‘Come along Mitchell get in your car seat,’ said Daddy.
‘No,’ said Mitchell, ‘I can’t find my Porsche. I’m not going without it.’
Everyone began to search for the powerful purple Porsche. Mummy looked in Mitchell’s bedroom, Daddy looked behind the curtains, Gran looked under the chairs and Grandad looked on the veranda. It was Rachel who found it under a cushion.
As they joined the queue to get into the zoo Mitchell held on to Daddy’s hand. In his other hand he gripped a bag containing; the fast yellow Ferrari, the bright blue Barina and the powerful purple Porsche.
A lady, wearing the brown uniform of a zoo keeper, smiled at Mitchell. ‘What have you got in the bag?’ She asked.
‘They’re his cars,’ said Rachel, ‘he’s going to show them to the lions.’
‘I’m afraid you won’t be able to see the lions today,’ said the keeper. ‘The lion enclosure is being upgraded and we’ve had to move them. Unfortunately the area is off limits to the public. Maybe you can show your cars to the koalas. We have a baby koala I’m sure would love to see them.’
‘Thank you,’ said Daddy, ‘that sounds like a good idea.’
Mitchell felt disappointed he couldn’t see the lions but there were so many other animals he soon forgot them. He laughed at the monkeys as they chattered and swung about their enclosure. He stared up at the tall giraffe, eating leaves from the top of a tree. He watched the penguins waddle up rocks and slide down.
‘How about we go and find the baby koala next.’ suggested Mummy. Everyone agreed and they set off along the path marked, ‘To the Koalas’.
They hadn’t got very far when they heard a lot of shouting and screams. Mitchell grabbed hold of Mummy’s hand and tightened his grip on his bag of cars. A crowd of people came running round the corner: ‘Go back! Run! There’s a lion on the loose!’
Everyone was running and shouting and Mitchell felt a bit scared by all the commotion. A boy, who was running and not looking where they were going, ran right into Mitchell. It caused Mitchell to fall down and drop his cars and his hand slipped out of Mummy’s. People were running all around him making it impossible for him to pick up his cars. ‘Mummy, Mummy,’ he called, but he couldn’t see her.
Then Mitchell spotted his bag of cars over on the grass. He ran to get them. But the bag was empty. He was about to follow everyone else when he caught sight of something yellow near the bushes. It was his fast yellow Ferrari. As he bent to pick it up he came face to face with something else yellow. Two big yellow eyes of a lion stared right at him. The lion showed its long pointy teeth and gave a loud grrrrrrrrrrrrr, as it placed its huge paw over Mitchell’s fast yellow Ferrari.
Mitchell was shaking. He looked around but everyone had gone. There was just him and a very fierce looking lion. Mitchell stood up tall and looked the lion in the eyes. ‘That’s my car you’re standing on,’ he said, in as firm a voice as he could manage.
The lion lifted its foot and gave the car a gentle push towards Mitchell. Quickly Mitchell grabbed it and put it in his bag. At the same time the lion moved towards the path giving another grrrrrrrrrrrr. It stopped next to his bright blue Barina. ‘I’d like that one back too please,’ said Mitchell.
‘Grrrrrrrrrrrr,’ growled the lion. He bent his big head and with his large wet nose pushed the bright blue Barina towards Mitchell. That one went in the bag too.
Mitchell became aware of someone standing next to him. It was the zoo keeper. She was holding a long pole with a hoop on the end. ‘He seems to like your cars. Do you think you could walk along the path to where the purple one is and show it to him?’ she said, pointing past the lion to where Mitchell’s powerful purple Porsche lay.
Mitchell nodded and very cautiously moved right past the lion toward his car. The lion watched Mitchell closely and raised his head and shook his thick main. While the lion was busy watching Mitchell the zoo keeper slipped the hoop over the lion’s head. Mitchell quickly scooped up his powerful purple Porsche.
Then Mummy and Daddy were there hugging him and telling him what a brave boy he was. As for Mitchell he was just happy to have his cars back.
‘I think we all deserve an ice cream after that big adventure,’ said Grandad.
As they moved off towards the kiosk, Mitchell riding on Daddy’s shoulders, people were smiling and waving. Mitchell turned around in time to see the lion being led away. At that moment the lion also turned its great head and gave a loud grrrrrrrrrrrr.
‘I think he’s saying thank you for showing him your cars,’ said Gran.
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