by day.

Did you not think it wonderful when you saw for the first time, perhaps,
a keeper walk boldly into the lions' cage, when in their natural state
they are so very fierce and wild? Well, we think it is wonderful,
although the keepers tell us that they are easily tamed.

In ancient times they were used in many more ways than they are now.
Hanno, the Carthaginian general, had a lion to carry his baggage, and
Mark Antony often rode through the streets of Rome in a chariot drawn by
lions. A short time ago we read a story of a slave named Androclus, who,
while hiding away from his master in the deserts of Africa, cured a lion
of lameness by pulling a thorn out of its foot. The slave was afterward
caught, carried to Rome, and condemned to be eaten by the wild beasts.
He was thrown into a lion's den, but the beast, instead of killing him
fawned upon him and showed the greatest delight at seeing him; Androclus
was surprised to find that it was the same lion whose foot he had cured
in the desert. The Emperor, it is said, was so much pleased at the sight
that he gave the slave his pardon, and presented him also with the lion,
after which he used to lead the great beast tamely through the streets,
held simply by a little chain.

In modern times, also, lions have been known to exhibit strong
friendship for man. In 799, two lions in the Jardin des Plantes (Garden
of Plants), at Paris, became so fond of their keeper that when he was
taken sick they gave signs of the greatest sorrow, and when he recovered
and came back to them they rushed to meet him, roaring with joy,
meanwhile licking his hands and face.

Perhaps you have read of Theodorus, King of Abyssinia (he killed himself
in 1868), who used to keep several tame lions in his palace and treated
them almost like dogs.

Travelers tell us, too, that these great animals often show fondness for
other animals, as, for instance, an old lioness belonging to the Dublin
Zoological Gardens was taken sick, and was greatly annoyed by the rats.
At last a little terrier dog was put into the cage, but was received by
the lioness with a surly growl; finally when the old animal saw the
little dog could kill her enemies, the rats, she coaxed him to her, and
petted and fondled him, so that they soon became great friends.

The lion is a mammal of the order carnivora, or flesh-eating animals.

The word lion comes from the Latin leo, Greek leon, lion.

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