1'KEPAUING FOR A liOUND. 89 



mount tlie rock, his next bound would be on to the 

 back of one or other of the poor animals, he made 

 the attempt; but, whether from the distance or the 

 height of the rock, he fell short of his mark, and 

 his head alone rested upon the top of the stone, 

 when he had the mortification of seeing the laro;o 



O ij 



stallion, who is always in the rear to defend the 

 troop, and whom he had intended to victimize, 

 gallop past him not only unscathed, but switching 

 his tail in the air as if in derision of the enemy. 

 His majesty then tried a second and a third leap at 

 the rock, and at length succeeded in fairly mount- 

 ing it. In the meantime two other lions came up, 

 and seemed to talk and roar away about something. 

 while 1 the old lion led them round the rock and 

 round it again ; then he made another grand leap, 

 to show them what he and they must do next time. 

 ' They evidently talked to each other,' Africaner 

 added, with the most perfect gravity ; ' but, though 

 loud enough, I could not understand a word they 

 said;' and, fearing lest we ourselves should be the 

 next objects of their skill, we crept away and left 

 them in council." 



Impossible as it may seem that the lion should 

 practice- vaulting, that lie may properly judge the 

 distance his victim may be from him when IK- makes 

 his bound, as stated by MolVntt, yet, singularly 

 enough, similar stories are told of the fox in Mr. 

 Lloyd's" Scandinavian Adventures," vol. ii., page 51, 

 where we read : 



" A certain Jagare, who was one morning keeping 

 watch in the forest, saw a fox cautiously making 

 his approaches towards the stump of an old tree; 



