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The mother ewe who had nursed Hari and had seen him
through his early years had forgotten that he was not her
own but was in actual fact the son of a lioness. It was
not only the mother sheep but all the sheep who had
forgotten the extraordinary circumstances of Hari's
birth, though it had taken place in the lifetime of most
of them.
At the time it happened, Hari's birth had sent momentary
panic into the heart of the flock, as well it might have.
It was a most unusual and most alarming event. On that
particular day the sheep had been grazing and bleating
and following one another about in perfect contentment,
when there appeared on the edge of the forest bordering
the meadow a tawny lioness. She stood sniffing the air
and staring at the flock with a curious smile half
desperate, half hopeful-playing about her lips. The
lioness was not well. Her body was swollen and her
breath came in short gasps. She was not young; she had
not eaten for days; she was about to give birth, and,
what is more, she had a bad heart. Slowly and painfully
she approached the flock, never taking her eyes from
them.
It was some time
before the sheep got wind of the fact that they were being attacked.
The lioness was practically upon them before one by one they turned
to look at her. For several seconds there was no reaction and then
suddenly such a bleating and confused scampering took place that the
lioness curled her lip in impatience and contempt. She had neither
the strength nor the inclination to chase all over the meadow. Nit-wits,
she snarled.
Author : Sister Gargi
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