Precious and the Mystery of the Missing Lion: A New Case for Precious Ramotswe (8 page)

First she picked up a stone. Then, half rising, she made her best imitation of a guinea fowl. She sounded something like this.

Then, with every ounce of strength she had, she threw the stone up into the air to the other side of the clearing – well away from where Tom was crawling through the grass.

At the sound of the guinea fowl, all the lions in the pride rose to their feet and looked about them with interest. Then, when the stone landed in a thick clump of bush well away from the
humans, the lions all bounded off to investigate. Lions, as you know, cannot resist guinea fowl and the thought that there might be a plump guinea fowl so close to them was just too much of a
temptation.

Tom saw what was happening. The moment the lion towards which he was crawling rose to his feet, he knew that he had made a terrible mistake. He froze, not moving while the great lion rushed past
him. Then, when the danger was over and the lions were all sniffing about in the bush for a guinea fowl that was not there, Tom crawled back to join the others as fast as his knees would carry
him.

“Thank you,” he whispered to Precious as they made their way hurriedly back down the track towards the boat. “You saved my life, you know.”

He thanked her again when they reached the boat, and he repeated his thanks when they arrived back at the camp. That was exactly what he should have done. If somebody saves your life, then you
should thank him or her at least three times. And if you are particularly grateful, you can say thank you a fourth time, which is what he did that night over dinner round the camp fire. Precious
had been invited and sat there modestly while Tom told the story. Then everybody clapped and cheered, which made Precious feel a bit embarrassed. She was a modest girl, you see, and she had simply
done what she had to do.

HE NEXT DAY
there was a meeting of Tom and all the film crew. Precious and Aunty Bee were
invited, as was Khumo.

“We are going to have to try to get Teddy back again,” said Tom. “This time we are going to take a famous lion catcher with us. He will be arriving with his net just before lunch time.”

Precious looked at the ground. She did not like the thought of Teddy being caught in a net. That would have been a very frightening experience for any lion, particularly for a gentle lion like
Teddy.

Tom noticed that Precious looked upset. “Is there anything wrong with my plan?” he asked.

Precious bit her lip. She was not sure how to say what she wanted to say, but then Aunty Bee said something that helped make up her mind. “It’s always better to speak the things that
are in your heart,” she whispered. “Never be too shy to do that.”

Precious knew that her aunt was right. And her father had told her the same thing too. “Don’t bite your tongue and say nothing when you feel that you have to speak. People respect a
person who says what she thinks.”

Now she looked up. “I don’t think you should catch him,” she said. “I think that he’s happy being free.”

This was greeted with silence.

“But he’s an actor,” said Tom at last. “His place is with us – in the films. He has a job to do!”

“His place is with other lions,” said Precious. “That is where he will be happiest. Lions like to be with other lions – that is well known.”

Tom opened his mouth to say something else, but then he closed it.

“I think we should leave him,” Precious went on. “Those other lions will teach him how to hunt and to live in the wild again. He will learn how to sleep under the stars. He
will learn how to wash his paws in rivers. He will learn how to roll about in a dust bath and jump up in the air to catch a guinea fowl as it flies from the grass. He will learn a lot of things
that lions need to know.” She paused. “That real lions need to know.”

She stopped, because everybody was looking at her.

“Is that all?” Tom finally asked.

“Yes,” she said. “I hope you don’t think me rude, but that is what I really feel.”

Tom waited a moment before replying.

“I think you’re right,” he said. “You’ve made me see it from Teddy’s point of view – from the lion’s point of view. I’ve never done that
before – I’ve always thought of myself. Now I know I’m wrong.”

“I agree,” said Tom’s assistant.

“And I agree too,” said the head cameraman. “We’ve already got plenty of shots of lions that we can use.”

Precious thought of something else. “But there’s one other thing,” she said. “I think we should go back there to say goodbye. We can do that from the boat – it
won’t be dangerous if we do it that way.”

They all agreed, and so a few hours later they set off again, this time taking Aunty Bee with them. She had time to make some especially delicious sandwiches, that they ate as the boat drifted
down the river towards the place where the lions liked to drink from the edge of the water.

The lions were there. This time it was Khumo who saw them first, and he excitedly pointed them out to everybody else on the boat. Teddy was with them – there was no mistaking him –
and when they approached in their boat, keeping a safe distance away, he came down to the edge of the water and sniffed at the air.