The Butterfly Lion

A year passes, and both Bertie and his mother are happy with the lion in their compound. When the year ends, Bertie learns he must go to boarding school in England and leave the lion cub and his compound behind. Bertie is eight, and will be sent away the following year to Salisbury, where he will live near his aunt and uncle. This news is devastating: His mother’s depression and illnesses return, and Bertie is desperate to stay.

Bertie’s father says the lion will go to a French circus owner, whom he met in Johannesburg, the capital of South Africa. The circus owner has been searching for exotic animals for his European circus, so Bertie’s father promised to sell him the lion. When he hears this, Bertie shouts at his father.

Mother tries to comfort Bertie, but the boy is heartbroken. He decides to run away with the lion, to save them both, so he takes his father’s rifle and leaves the compound. Bertie takes the lion cub deep into the veldt and sets it free, but no matter what, the lion will not leave his side. Finally, Bertie fires a shot over the lion’s head, which scares the lion away.