THE KING OF BEASTS. 



HE Lion has been always regarded as the King of Beasts. But few 

 can withstand him at anytime, and in the darkness of the night, when he 

 loves to prowl abroad, his powerful voice alone, resounding over the plain, 

 or awakening the echoes of the forest, sends the whole animal kingdom fleeing 

 before him in terror. When he is engaged in feasting on the body of some creature 

 that has been killed by a blow of his massive paw, none will dare to intrude upon 

 his majesty ; but all wait patiently until he has satisfied his appetite, and then 

 humbly content, themselves with what he may leave uneaten. It is thus he rules 

 over the various quadrupeds that dwell in the same districts with himself, meeting 

 with but few that do not acknowledge his authority. 



There are some, however, that do not fear him, such as the colossal 

 elephant, the mighty rhinoceros, or the powerful buffalo, and these he seldom molests. 

 Still, occasional instances have been known of attacks by Lions on the first-named 

 of these great animals. One day a traveller, while hunting antelopes, drew near 

 a place where about a dozen elephants were quietly feeding, and saw a Lion and 

 Lioness rush upon one who was straying a little apart from the rest. The Lion 

 climbed up on the elephant's hind-quarters, while the Lioness attempted to seize 

 the great animal by the throat. As soon as the elephant felt the claws of his 

 assailants tearing great gashes in .his hide, he uttered a loud cry, and rushed 

 towards a river which was a short distance away, lashing his sides and back 



