It was fun being the daughter of a zookeeper. Bianca
especially loved the big cats, and would spend hours sitting outside their
cage, just across the safety glass from the majestic animals. The lions seemed
to like Bianca too, cuddling up to the glass and gazing at her with lazy eyes.
Perhaps it was because she was being brought up in such a
rich environment, but Bianca was developmentally advanced, starting to read at
the age of three. By the time she was turning five, Bianca was consuming large
tomes of fiction, and even non-fiction.
One morning, Bianca was sitting reading just across the
glass from the big cats when an earthquake shook the complex. The glass
cracked, but Bianca spoke calmly to the felines and they lay still, adoring
eyes fixed upon the child as she continued to read.
Not so with the hyenas, who escaped their cage and began to
roam the zoo, looking for prey. The hyenas found the tunnels that human used to
view the big cats, and came racing in, slobbering and slathering in
anticipation of tasting tender little girl.
Bianca screamed in terror. Disturbed, the lead lion roared,
the roar shattering the glass into a myriad of small pieces. The lion leapt
through the opening and past Bianca. Bianca crept back into the lion’s cage and
climbed into the safe arms of a tree. She watched the conflict with a
shuddering heart.
The lion batted at one hyena with a huge paw. It rolled over,
stunned. The lion shook himself and the other hyena fell to the ground with a
thud. The lion roared, and the pack decided to back off, seeking easier prey
elsewhere.
Bianca’s father found her clinging to a tree in the lion’s
enclosure. He was grateful she was unharmed.
Cecelia Hopkins-Drewer 2018
(Monday image prompt supplied by Australian Speculative Fiction Facebook Group. This tale was submitted to the group's Facebook page and gathered comments and likes.)
