King of the Cats

Samantha walked with her group slowly to the edge of the trees. There she saw a family of zebras standing in the heat of the day. Samantha and her parents had taken the trip of a lifetime. Through work, Samantha’s dad had been able to secure a safari into the middle of Africa. For months, Samantha and her parents had looked at maps and researched all types of animals that they might encounter. Ben, the guide of the trip, assured them that they would be able to see all the animals on their list.

Samantha was hoping that she could see a real lion. She meant the kind of lion with the huge mane and the loud roar. Ben kept promising one, but they hadn’t seen one yet.

Samantha adjusted her binoculars to look closely at the zebras. Their stripes were really amazing. Just beyond the zebras, Samantha thought she saw a lion’s tail in the distance. She must be imagining things. She crept slowly to the edge of the jeep and peered around.

Just then she heard, “Come and find me!” in a low whisper.

“What?” asked Samantha as she glanced around.

“Me!” stated the lion, “Come and find me.”

Samantha peered closely into the grass and sure enough, there was a lion looking right at her.

“Did I just hear the lion talk?” whispered Samantha.

“Yes, you did,” replied the lion confidently.

“Uh . . . Dad . . .,” called Samantha and she edged back towards the group.