FREEDOM ... Short Story Competition UK
Leo , the full grown lion with a massive mane paced along the sides of his wire run . Back and forth , hour after hour , and day after day he would walk along , his yellow eyes steadily fixed on the bush beyond . He had been a very young pup when his mother had been caught in a cruel trap that broke both her legs . She had died slowly and painfully , her cub nestled close as he tried to feed from his mother . Days later a guard had found the pair and despite much spitting and snarling , the young cub was very hungry and afraid , he managed to lure him into a sack . The game park to where the guard had taken the cub was close by and the animal had been bundled into his truck and taken there as he was clearly too young to fend for himself .
It was many days before Leo would allow anyone near but eventually with good treatment , plenty of food and careful handling he had become a favourite pet of the park and been allowed to play and romp with the owners two dogs on the lawns outside the cages .
Eventually , however , the small cub had grown and , because he was considered too large to handle and Dangerous , because of his boisterous behaviour he had to be restrained in a spacious run , strong enough to withstand any attempt he might make to get out . The park employed volunteers to help with the cleaning and feeding of all the animals housed there and a young girl from another country spent most of her holidays helping out , her special interest being Leo of whom she was very fond . She used to sit and talk to the lion through the wire fence , stroking his ears which he bent towards her hands while giving off a low purr of pleasure . She saw that he watched the bush beyond his cage , his eyes turning towards the open spaces time and again and wished that the time would come soon for his planned release to where he could roam free .
We couldn ’ t leave it all to the ladies of the United Kingdom , could we ? So … 4 of our Aussie NWR ladies gave it a go … in 2000 or less words .
Get ready for a treat . Read on !
Many people , mostly children , were regular visitors to the park and Leo always attracted the most visitors . Because the animals were wild , care had always to be taken to ensure protection from the seemingly tame beasts and the girl too was always conscious of this . Leo , as was the parks practice with all the larger animals , was housed in a cage within a larger cage so that when the outer cage had to be cleaned , and fresh water put in , Leo would be placed in the inner cage , which was then securely locked . The Park ’ s regular employees had dropped meat into the inner cage which had a small opening on the top of it which was then secured . They had fed Leo before dropping the gate that secured him in the inner cage .
One day the girl , making sure that Leo was safely housed in his inner cage , entered the outer one and raked and cleaned the area , unaware that Leo had inspected the lock and found that it had not been put in place correctly . Without warning and silently Leo had made his way out and had sprung onto the unsuspecting girl who had her back to him , biting her on the throat which is what lions do to their prey . Her screams brought immediate help but Leo had bounded off into the bush that he had watched for so many years . With a hospital close by the girl was rushed in for emergency surgery but was too badly injured and did not survive the attack . Leo had to be hunted down and shot for fear he would attack again .
Did Leo remember his earlier life in the bush ? Did he recall his mother ’ s cruel treatment and did the presence of humans cause Leo ' s attack or was the lure of freedom too much to ignore and to which he would try to return no matter what ? One will never know .
Angela , Kalamunda Group
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