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John and Ace's Furniture Shop
The
little lion was gentle with everyone he met, and many of those who
initially visited just to stare at him became firm friends. But the cub
also had a cheeky sense of humor and liked to surprise people by
creeping up behind them and making them jump.
One wet
afternoon Christian was sitting in his favorite spot, intrigued by the
raindrops trickling down the outside of the window. It had been a quiet
day in the shop, with very few visitors, so the lion cub turned his head
when the doorbell jangled and a customer came in.
Christian watched as John went over to speak to her. She was short and
slim and wore a smart brown suit. Her hair was dark and flecked with
grey.
"Do you
need any help, madam?" John asked politely.
"Yes,"
she answered carefully. "I'd like to take a closer look at the beautiful
pine table over there," and she pointed to the table in the centre of
the shop floor. On her way over, she stumbled on something and John had
to take her elbow to steady her. She bent over, picking up the object
that had tripped her, but when she saw what it was, she immediately
dropped it with a loud shriek.
The
offending article was one of the huge bones that John and Ace gave
Christian to chew on in between meals. It was a good way for him to
exercise his jaws and keep his teeth sharp. It also had the added bonus
of stopping him chewing on the furniture in the shop -- which Ace had
caught him doing several times!
"What on
earth is that?" the woman cried, once she'd recovered from her initial
shock. "It looks big enough to feed a lion!"
Christian saw his chance for a bit of fun. Slowly and carefully, he
climbed down from his seat in the window. The soft pads of his feet made
no sound as he slunk silently towards the customer.
John
picked up the bone and put it out of sight. "Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry. I
hope you're okay. Actually, you're absolutely right, we do have a lion
-- his name is Christian. He has a habit of leaving his old bones lying
around once he's bored of gnawing on them."
The
woman stared at John for a minute, puzzled; then, assuming he'd made a
joke, she burst out laughing.
By now
Christian was right next to her; he sat down by her leg, staring up at
her. His eyes were twinkling mischievously.
"No,
really, madam," John said seriously. "Look, we do have . . ." And
as he spoke he pointed down at the lion cub.
Christian didn't move a muscle.
The poor
woman looked down slowly . . . She couldn't believe her eyes. Shrieking
in alarm, she jumped behind the nearest piece of furniture, terrified.
Even when John crouched down to give Christian a cuddle and prove how
gentle and playful he was, she wouldn't move from her hiding place.
Eventually, after a lot of reassurance from John -- along with a
sit-down and a cup of tea -- she recovered from her shock.
Christian, realizing the fun was over, sloped off to find something more
entertaining to play with. |
