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Show USdEvesii9 Fairy Tale 5y JAZY GRAHAM BONNER PROUD MOTHER LIONESS "Ah," said Mother Lioness, "I am j very proud. I have six beautiful Urtle babies. "Now there is nothing at all wonderful wonder-ful about having two little babies or even four little bubies at least that is what I now say but It's very wonderful won-derful to be the mother of six little lion babies. "Ah, yes, it's very wonderful Indeed." In-deed." The Mother Lioness licked her paws and gazed about her. What dull lives everyone led, she was thinking. No one had six lion babies as she I had ut least she did not know of i anyone who had. I Anil she knew It was very wonderful j to have six lion babies. That surely I beat all records. " j She did not quite know what It meant to beat all records but she knew that It meant that it was doing the best thing imaginable and being very, very superior, so she was extremely proud. She thought of the boys and the girls who looked at her and at the babies. Site thought what a hard time they must have with no little lions to play with and no little lions to watch grow up. The little boy '.ions with manes would grow to full length when they It Was Very Wonderful to Have Six Lion Babies. became five years of age, and the little girls would be wdld and fierce like herself. Just at present she was feeling very pleasant and happy. She hadn't done anything she shouldn't do and she was feeling like a very perfect lioness. "Poor little boys and girls looking through the bars at me," she thought. "How sad it is that you have no lion babies at home. "Poor little hoys and girls!" Then she thought how sad It must be for the mothers and daddies who passed the cage. They only had little boys and girls at home or perhaps babies who cried. How much nicer it was to have babies who could roar! Crying seemed such a silly thing to Mother Lioness. But to have six lion babies ! Well, that was the best of all, six little lit-tle wild darlings to grow up to roar and to be strong and big. Ah, people would look at them later on and would say that they were afraid of them but that they liked to look at them in the zoo. That would make Mother Lioness proud for she would know that the people peo-ple knew that in the forest the lions would have the best of them. So she dreamed of the future and she thought of the present as she watched the lion babies, and she said to herself over and over again : "Ah, what a proud and happy Mother Moth-er Lioness I am, with my six beautiful lion babies." And then she sent a Zoolet to be added to the collection of zoolets verses written in the zoo by the anl-' anl-' mals. This was Mother Lioness' zoo-i zoo-i let. It was called "The Lioness" : Mother Lioness pave a roar, Said sine, "Good-night, each child. And when the Sandman comes to you May he give you dreams so wild; I May they be of hunting parties ! And brave escapes for you. And though they're only dreams, May you dream that they are truel |