(原版)澳大利亞語文第五冊 LESSON 45

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LESSON 45 ADVENTURE WITH A LION

ADVENTURE WITH A LION

DR . LIVINGSTONE, the famous missionary ［1］ , tells the following story of an adventure which he had with a lion, while he was travelling in Africa.

We found the lions on a small hill covered with trees. The men formed round it in a circle, and gradually closed up, until they were pretty near to each other. Being below on the plain, I saw one of the lions sitting on a rock, within the now closed circle of men. One of the men fired at him before I could, and the ball ［2］ hit the rock on which the animal was sitting. He bit at the spot struck, as a dog does at a stick or stone thrown at him; and then, leaping away, broke through the circle and escaped unhurt.

When the circle was re-formed, we saw two more lions in it, but were afraid to fire, lest we should hit the men, and they allowed those beasts to burst through also. Seeing we could not get them to kill any of the lions, we bent our footsteps towards the village. In going round the end of the hill, I saw one of the beasts sitting on a piece of rock, about thirty yards off, with a little bush in front of him. I took a good aim at his body through the bush and fired both barrels into it.

The men then called out, ‘He is shot, he is shot.’ Others cried, ‘He has been shot by another man, too; let us go to him.’ I did not see anyone else shoot at him, but I saw the lion's tail erect in anger behind the bush, and turning to the people, said: ‘Stop a little, till I load again.’ When in the act of ramming down ［3］ the bullets, I heard a shout, and, on looking round,I saw the lion just in the act of springing on me. He caught me by the shoulder, and we both came to the ground together.

Growling horribly, close to my ear, he shook me as a terrier does a rat. The shock produced a stupor ［4］ similar to that which seems to be felt by a mouse after the first grip of the cat. It caused a sort of dreaminess, in which there was no sense of pain or feeling of terror, though I was quite aware of all that was happening. The shake destroyed fear, and I felt no sense of horror in looking at the beast.

As he had one paw on the back of my head, I turned round to relieve myself of the weight, and saw him looking at one of the men, who was trying to shoot him from a distance of ten or fifteen yards; but his gun, a flint ［5］ one, missed fire in both barrels. The lion at once left me to attack him, and bit him in the thigh. Another man, whose life I had saved before, then tried to spear the lion; but the enraged beast at once seized him by the shoulder. At that moment, however, the bullets the lion had received took effect, and he fell down dead.

The whole was the work of a few moments, and must have been the last efforts of his dying rage. Besides crushing the bone into splinters, he left eleven wounds on the upper part of my arm.

The bite of a lion is like a gunshot wound. Usually the sore is very difficult to heal, and ever afterwards pains are felt from time to time in the part bitten.

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［1 ］ missionary: A man sent out to preach.

［2 ］ ball: The ball fired from a gun; a bullet.

［3 ］ ramming down: The gun was loaded from the open end.

［4 ］ stupor: Daze, state of being unable to think or act.

［5 ］ flint gun: The powder in an old-fashioned gun was fired by a spark from a flint.