impos'ing, grand looking; of great size.
glar'ing, fierce looking.
lim'its, space.
e nor'mous, very large; huge.
start'led, suddenly alarmed; surprised.
au'dible, that may be heard.
maj'esty, greatness; nobility.
increas'ing, growing larger.
THE LION.
There is, in the appearance of the lion, something both noble and imposing. Nature has given him wonderful strength and beauty.
His body, when full grown, is only about seven feet long and less than four feet high; but his large and shapely head, with its powerful jaws, his glaring eye, and long, flowing mane, give him an air of majesty that shows him worthy of the name—"King of Beasts."
Yet we are told that a lion will not willingly attack man, unless first attacked himself or driven by hunger to forget his habits.
On meeting man suddenly, he will turn, retreat slowly for a short distance, and then run away.
The lion belongs to the cat family, and his teeth and claws are similar in form and action to those of the house cat.
His food is the flesh of animals; and so great is his appetite, that it must require several thousand other animals to supply one lion with food during his life-time.
His strength is so enormous that he can crush the skull of an ox with a single blow of his powerful paw, and then grasp it in his jaws and bound away.
Unless driven by hunger to bolder measures, he will hide in the bushes, or in the tall reeds along the banks of rivers, and spring suddenly upon the unlucky animal that chances to come near him.