“Yes, when I’m asleep, but when I’m awake I snore like this.”
To Buster’s surprise he opened his mouth and let out a roar that shook the whole place and started every animal crying and snarling. Spot the Leopard, who was caged on Buster’s left, growled and spit ferociously as he sprang from one side of his cage to the other. But the Old Lion sat back on his haunches and roared with laughter.
“What did you do that for?” asked Buster, when the wild commotion began to subside.
“Just to show you how I snore in the day time,” was the retort. “You want to hear it again?”
“No, thank you, once is enough.”
“Well, if you say so, I won’t,” replied the Old Lion. “But after you’ve been here a long time you’ll be glad to hear me roar. It breaks up the monotony. There’s nothing else to do, you know, and it gets dreadfully tiresome doing nothing. Heigh-o! it’s a dull life!”
He yawned and stretched himself. Spot the Leopard on the other side stopped his snarling, and glanced between his bars at Buster. He was interested in this new-comer, and he continued to stare so long that Buster finally smiled back at him and nodded his head.
“How did they catch you?” Spot asked suddenly.
“With a rope,” replied Buster. “I wasn’t expecting it, and they dropped it over my head before I could run.”
Spot spit and snarled again to show his temper. “They caught me when I was a cub,” he said. “They wouldn’t have caught me if I was full grown. They’re afraid of me now. Every time my trainer comes in I snarl and snap at her. She snaps the whip in my face, and I pretend to be afraid of it. But I’m not! I’m just waiting my chance. Some day I’ll pounce on her, and then—”