1.There is only one creature of whom the lion seems to be afraid，and that creature is man.The lion will rarelyattack a man，unless he is attacked first，or canspring upon the man without being seen.
2.Bishop Hannington，a missionarywho lived in Central Africa，was out one day in the forest along with a native servant who carried his gun.He was looking for some of the strange plants and flowers that grow in that country.
3.Suddenly he heard a rustling among some thick bushes close by，and he saw that some large animal was crouchingamong them.He took his gun and fired，and when he went to the place he found that he had shot a lion‘s cub .
4.When his servant saw this，he screamed with terror and ran away，shouting，“Run，run for your life！”At the same time the missionary heard a terrible roar，and，turning round，he saw a huge lion and a lioness come rushing towards him.
5.If he had run away from them，he would have been overtaken and torn to pieces in a moment.So this brave man simply turned and faced them，standing quite still，and looking steadilyeyes.
6.This surprised the lions so much that they，too，stood still，and looked in wonder at this strange two-legged animal，that would not run away，and that had such a bold clear look in his eyes.
7.Thus they stood for a few minutes without moving；and then very slowly and steadily the missionary began to move off backwards，never for a moment taking his eyes off his two savageenemies.After he had gone backwards in this way for a hundred yards or so，he coolly turned his back on them and walked away.
8.But he did not mean to lose the skin of the animal he had shot.In a little while he went back to the place，and saw the lion and lioness walking round and round their dead cub，licking its body and growling.The missionary ran towards them，threw up his arms，and gave a loud shout.
9.The lion and his mate started，stared for a moment at this strange creature，and then ran away as fast as they could.The missionary then took up the cub，and walked off with it over his shoulder，as if there Was no danger.
10.His native servant was in so great terror that he did not dare to touch the animal，but left his master to carry it all the way to their tent.When the other natives heard of the missionary’s bold action，they showed him great respect，and listened all the better to his teaching.