And toward it, cautiously, the child retreats.
But see! The lion, restless grown once more,
Is lashing with his tail in angry beats.
The boy, advancing, plays again the lay.
Again the beast, remembering the refrain,
Follows him on, until in this dread way
The cage is reached, and in it go the twain.
At once the boy springs out, the door makes fast,
Then leaps with joy to reach his mother's side;
Her praise alone, of all that crowd so vast,