"Pati!" "You monster." "Nuru, you mustn't leave the drinks where Pati can get at them." "I'm very sorry, Memsahib." "That bad, Pati!" "It's not really her fault." "You're not supposed to put temptation in the path of an alcoholic." "She's not a...." "She's a rock hyrax." "Yes, and a disgrace to her species." "Anyway, we'll all have to be more careful." "I'm sure it can't be good for her." "Yes, but she likes it." "I know." "Now, where did I leave my paints?" "Here, Memsahib." "Thank you, Nuru." "Will you take Pati?" "Thank you." "Now, no more drinking." "I am Joy Adamson and for many years my home has been in the northern province of Kenya where my husband, George, was senior game warden." "One of his duties was to deal with dangerous animals who were a menace to either human life or to crops." "And we were on safari in the Boran region where a man-eating lion had been reported." "Look out!" "You've been very successful, haven't you?" "Joy, can you spare a minute?" "Yes, I suppose so." "What is it?" "I've a little something for you." "Do they belong to those two up there?" "Yes." "We had to kill the mother." "I'm sorry." "She attacked us and we didn't know why until it was too late." "Poor little dears." "Come here, darlings." "Careful!" "One gave Sam a first-class scratch." "Not very good-tempered, are they?" "Neither are you when you're hungry." "I don't suppose you've fed them." "No, I can't say I have." "You didn't pack any lion's milk for me before I left." "You didn't ask me." "Come on, darlings, never mind that brute." "We'll feed you." "We'll make you strong and healthy." "Come on." "Well, that wasn't a great success, was it?" "But why don't they?" "It's at least two days since they've eaten." "They'll just die." "Yes, I know." "It must be the formula." "We haven't hit on it yet." "We'll just have to try again." "Right." "Back to the drawing board." "Formula...." "Thirteen." "George, I've just been thinking about the cod-liver oil." "Do you think we put too much in?" "Twenty-four hours later, they were still refusing food of any kind." "They were actually dying of starvation before our eyes." "Formula seventeen." "To be perfectly honest, I'm beginning to wish I hadn't brought them back." "Come on, darling." "Come on, sweetie." "What is it?" "What are we going to do with you?" "Why won't you eat?" "Don't you see you'll die?" "Come on, baby, there's a little sweetie baby." "My little sweeties." "There." "There." "A little nap and they'll be begging for more." "Yes, thanks to Elsa." "Who?" "The one who took the milk first." "Oh, yes." "But why "Elsa"?" "I don't know." "Well, I suppose I do really." "She reminds me of a little girl I knew at school." "She was the smallest of us all and not good at games but she was bright and brave and good, and I liked her very much." "Her name was Elsa." "Fair enough." "You're wonderful, too, darling." "After all, you're the one that did it." "Why, sure." "They said I couldn't do it, but I did it." "Formula seventeen." "You're a genius." "You really ought to put it on the market." "No." "You see, it would never work without one special ingredient." "This." "I'm not putting that on the market." "Even as babies, each had a different character." "The largest one, we called her the "Big One" was vain of her size and strength." "The second largest, Lastika, was the clown of the three." "But my favourite, of course, was the smallest, Elsa." "A weakling in size but the bravest of them all she loved to explore and investigate and examine." "And there were no limits to her curiosity." "In the wild, she would have been the throw-out of the pride for the smallest cub in a litter rarely survives." "But Elsa had no inferiority complex." "AII the cubs were, naturally, housetrained and always took great care to reach the sandboxes outside." "But, also naturally, there were a few accidents in the early days and when these happened, they were most embarrassed." "Unfortunately for Pati, very soon the cubs were too large for her." "At three months old, their teeth were big enough for them to eat meat." "And this soon meant that poor little Elsa never got her fair share." "So I kept the best bits for her." "George said he was convinced Elsa thought I was her mother." "Whatever she thought, she made me happy by following me everywhere and keeping me company while George was away." "When they grew older and needed more room to play we put Nuru in charge of them, and they got along beautifully." "Elsa!" "What are you doing?" "Go away!" "Go!" "Get away!" "Getting them out of their cage for their morning exercise was never a problem." "Come on, babies." "But putting them to bed was another story." "Come back!" "Come back, Big One." "Come on, Big One." "Come back, Elsa!" "In you go!" "Come on." "That's it." "Come on." "Inside." "And you." "There!" "Eventually, we had to ban them entirely from the house." "To make it up to them, we hung an old tyre from a tree and Elsa particularly fell in love with it." "They're beginning to look like lions now." "Yes, and to behave like them, too." "Don't I remember the father was a man-eater?" "You don't believe that man-eating is an inherited trait, do you?" "I don't think anyone really knows." "I hope you're ready for lunch, 'cause I am." "And hungry enough to eat a hyena." "John's just wondering if your cubs might start eating people one day." "You're joking, of course." "You know my lions are perfect little angels." "Yes, but they'll be very large angels soon." "Isn't it about time you thought of shipping them off to a zoo?" "Is that an order, John?" "You're touchy." "Have you been feeding him that lion's milk he's famous for?" "Of course it's not an order." "But it's a good idea, isn't it?" "Yes, of course, you're right." "We've already arranged to send them to Rotterdam Zoo." "We're not ecstatic about it." "Why?" "It's excellent." "He means we're going to miss them." "I know I will, terribly." "Particularly one of them." "Of course you will." "They're absolutely loveable at this age." "Forgot to shut the gates." "Heaven help the house." "Hurry!" "Perfect little angels!" "John, be a dear and get hold of Elsa." "Be careful, she's not very strong." "Neither am I." "No, you don't understand." "She's delicate." "So am I. Let George fetch her." "Would you mind keeping your eye on her?" "We'll be back in a moment." "All right, my delicate one." "Here I come." "Joy, would you go back and fetch Elsa?" "Yes." "I hope John doesn't scare her." "Steady." "Elsa, you naughty girl." "Don't you understand?" "He's the boss." "I'm sorry, John, you must have frightened her." "Come on, come on, darling." "You mustn't be afraid of John." "He likes lions." "AII too soon, we received word from the Rotterdam Zoo that it was ready to receive the cubs." "We padded and wired the truck." "And each day we took them out for a long ride in order to prepare them for the 180-mile trip to the Nairobi airfield." "I would leave Pati behind on these rides." "She was getting old now, and I kept her as quiet as possible." "Look after Pati for me, Nuru." "Yes, Memsahib." "All right, darling?" "Yes, fine." "Memsahib." "Pati...." "What's happened?" "She's very sick, I think from heat." "I think she die." "She's dead." "When the day that I had been dreading came I went for a last walk with Elsa." "Elsa?" "There you are." "Come on." "Come on, come on down." "This way." "Come on." "Elsa, no!" "Come away." "Please!" "Thank you, darling." "That's a good girl." "If it's any consolation, I feel as rotten about it as you do." "George, I think I ought to tell you that just now Elsa...." "What about her?" "Nothing." "Come on, love." "Come on." "There you go, my sweetie." "l suppose we do have to send them off." "Yes." "All of them?" "Yes, even Elsa." "Even if I told you that she just stopped me from walking into a great big cobra and that she knew what she was doing?" "I'm sorry, it wasn't fair to ask." "Let's get the show on the road, as they say." "Would you mind if I did some shopping?" "No, good idea." "Can you cope?" "Yes, I think so." "I'll meet you outside Ahmed's." "How will you get there?" "In a taxi." "I know it's silly." "I know she's not a human being." "I know she's just a lion, but I wish I could stop feeling so miserable." "You will." "No, I'm just a fool." "I'm going to miss her terribly." "You won't, you know." "Elsa, sweetie." "Darling, thank you." "Thank you very much." "Hello, George!" "Hello, John." "Good afternoon, Bwana Kendall." "Where's Elsa?" "Elsa's not out here today." "Good." "How's Bwana George?" "Much better now." "But that malaria was very bad." "Good thing he has strong medicine." "Yes." "Well, you don't look too bad." "I boxed with Nuru before breakfast, and earned a draw." "Good." "Marvellous stuff, these malaria pills." "Yes, if you don't overdo it." "I'm feeling fine." "Well enough for Joy to go out and you know she wouldn't go if I wasn't fit." "Quite." "What's she up to?" "Having the Land Rover checked." "And in case you're wondering, Elsa's with her." "I don't understand why everyone assumes that Elsa and I have a feud." "Help yourself." "Thank you." "Actually, George, I wanted to talk to you about another lion." "You know, the one that's been snatching all those goats down in Kiunga." "I don't see why you have to travel all that way in your condition." "Why don't I send Ken, or one of the others?" "No, I think I'd like some sea air." "If you can wait until I feel a bit stronger." "I don't mind." "A change would do you good." "But don't overdo it, will you?" "The best cure for malaria is rest." "I take your point, John." "I'll rest." "I promise you." "Here, isn't that...." "Yes." "Come on, Elsa." "Come on down." "Ride's over." "Hurry up." "Let's go and see how George is." "Hello, John, how nice of you to drop in." "Here's some letters for you." "Thanks." "How are you?" "Fine." "Good." "Boxed six rounds with John this morning." "Earned a draw." "How does it feel to live with the boxing champion of the world?" "Marvellous." "We boxed two rounds this morning and I knocked him out." "Can you stay to dinner?" "Or, better still, stay the night." "I can do both." "Good." "I'll just go and warn the cook." "Poor darling, I've hurt her feelings." "Joy!" "Hello, Elsa." "Have a nice drive?" "Stop it, Elsa." "Hello, Elsa." "Get down." "Why don't you go and say hello to John?" "You know, I think I'm being snubbed." "Now stop it, Elsa." "I hope." "You're getting heavy, Elsa." "Stop it, you're squashing me." "Now, the question is:" "What have I forgotten?" "Tell you what I've forgotten." "I'm almost out of malaria pills." "Right." "Goodbye, darling." "Look after yourself." "And no boxing." "I wouldn't dream of such a thing." "Goodbye, John." "Lovely to see you." "Thank you." "Now I must say goodbye to Elsa." "Where is she?" "On her car." "Elsa, I told you you couldn't go to Nairobi with me." "Have you met my wife who talks to lions?" "Please, come down." "Elsa." "I'm afraid you'll have to help me, Father." "Good old Dad." "Elsa, don't be such a lunatic." "Get down!" "Get down!" "Come on!" "Come on!" "Good girl." "Will you have another cup of coffee before you go off?" "No, thank you." "What will you do with Elsa while you're away in Kiunga?" "We'll take her with us unless you care to board her till we get back." "No, thank you." "You know, you're as much her prisoner as she is yours." "She's not a prisoner." "She's a friend." "Yes, I know." "And there's probably no harm in taking her on a short trip, with reasonable care." "But your long leave is due soon." "Are you planning on taking her to England for a year?" "No, it's a problem." "I've meant to talk to Joy about it, but I suppose I've been waiting." "Don't wait too long." "Look after yourself." "Come on, lunatic." "You're blocking the road." "John wants to go home." "All clear, John." "Thank you." "Now, look, Joy will be back tomorrow." "You can't stay here all night." "Damn it!" "Now you've got me talking to you." "Look, she'll be back tomorrow." "I promise you." "Elsa, go away." "Don't you sneak up on me like that." "It's very unpleasant." "Elsa, get down, you idiot." "I don't know." "Stop playing about." "Kindly give me the towel." "Thank you." "Now let's have my dressing gown back." "Come on." "Give it to me." "Right away." "Go on, push off!" "Hello, Elsa." "Did you look after George for me?" "Hello, darling." "Hello, George." "Good trip?" "Not bad." "A bit dusty." "How's Elsa?" "She missed her mom." "I did my best as a babysitter, but I'm afraid I'm not the type." "Do you know, she sat out here all night long waiting for you?" "Poor thing." "And poor you, too, darling." "Come on, Elsa." "I'll find something nice for you." "George seemed so recovered from his attack of malaria that we left for Kiunga the very next day wondering how Elsa would react to the sight of her first ocean." "We reached Kiunga too late for anything except to make camp and then meet the local fishermen who had come to tell George about their troubles with the lion killing their goats." "Under the circumstances, Elsa's presence seemed to puzzle them considerably." "We were tired and had fallen asleep quickly." "But I was awakened by noises coming from near the cars and the kitchen." "There was no doubt that our cars, or our food were providing a great temptation to someone." "I didn't want to wake George." "He had looked so tired and pale when we arrived." "George." "George!" "What is it?" "There's a lion out there." "I think it's John's goat-eater." "Don't be silly." "No lion would come into camp." "It's probably a hyena, or a leopard or something." "No, it's a lion." "I saw it." "I was out there by the cook tent." "What were you doing...." "All right." "Go back to bed." "Did you see him?" "Yes, I saw him." "Go to sleep." "Well, what happened?" "I'd rather not discuss it." "Go to sleep." "What are you doing?" "Getting a drink of water." "Look, will you or will you not go to sleep?" "That's that." "Work finished ahead of schedule." "From tomorrow, we play." "Marvellous watchdog you are!" "Immediately after our first walk along the beach we all trooped down to the water's edge to introduce Elsa to the Indian Ocean." "At first she was put off by the growl and rush of the waves and the taste of the water." "And perhaps, by the audience we had collected and which was looking on from a safe distance." "But soon her characteristic curiosity prevailed and she enjoyed herself tremendously." "She loved playing almost any game George invented." "At the same time, she exhibited a talent for football that none of us had suspected." "It was a marvellous holiday." "Until one afternoon, Nuru came panting down the beach to tell me that something was terribly wrong with Bwana George." "I ran to our camp." "Let me get the pills." "Joy!" "Here, it's all right, darling." "It's all right!" "Lie down." "There, that's all right." "Just give me those." "Yes, you see, medicine can be very good but too much medicine can be very bad, and he has taken too much and he has been too active, too soon." "He might very well have died, you see." "Indeed, I'm surprised that he did not." "Goggle fishing too soon, too soon." "He seems to be an impetuous man." "True." "He's a mad, impetuous boy." "Then we must curb his impetuosity." "No more goggling." "No." "He must rest and then he will get well." "We'll see to it, Doctor." "Elsa will look after him." "She's a wonderful watchdog." "Yes." "I see what you mean." "Goodbye." "Thank you very much." "Good luck." "You mad, impetuous boy." "Like all holidays, ours was over all too soon." "And it was the last we would ever take together." "The time was approaching when our lives would be changed forever." "Elsa was fully grown now." "She had already been in season and was capable of having her own cubs and she started to realize there was another life than the one we had been living together." "A little later, our troubles began." "You okay?" "Sorry, but I know that lioness." "She's a friend of mine." "You're certain she's all right?" "Completely." "She and her friend Nuru came over to say hello and then went on for a walk." "But it's a good thing I spotted her collar or Mr. Watson might have claimed his first bag." "I'm sorry, Mrs. Adamson, I didn't know." "After all, you don't see a lion sitting in a tree every day." "No, I suppose not." "Actually, we're looking for elephants." "I've got my heart set on getting an elephant." "Well, we do get elephants here, but not for shooting." "I don't understand." "They come each year for the maize and Brussels sprouts which they love, and they're usually quite well-behaved." "They fascinate Elsa, I'm sorry to say." "This is elephant season now." "Really?" "Do you think we might get to see some?" "I shouldn't be surprised." "Memsahib, Elsa playing with the elephants." "Many elephants." "No." "Sorry." "Come along if you want to see some elephants." "Good." "Remember, they're just for looking at." "No shooting unless it's necessary." "l know." "But let's go." "Come in the back, there's more room." "Okay!" "A few moments later, when we passed through the shambles of a village we saw one of the results of Elsa's "playing" with the elephants." "As bad as it was, it was a great relief to learn that no one had been hurt." "But now I was dreadfully afraid that Elsa might have been trampled by some angry elephant." "And then we saw her very happily bringing home a two-year-old souvenir of the occasion." "And the damage, I'm sorry to say, is considerable." "The complaints and bills for crop damage, et cetera, are still coming in and will do so for some time to come." "The point is, I'm afraid, that you can't keep Elsa any longer." "I'm not responsible for the decision." "Don't you see?" "Too many people know she was the cause of the stampede and from now on she'll be blamed for any lost livestock or damage." "Or for anything that any wild lion or leopard might do." "On the other hand, she might very easily be shot by anyone." "I think you were lucky the last time." "She's too big now to be allowed to roam about even with Nuru or yourselves." "And you can't keep her caged all the time that would only frustrate her and could make her vicious." "I'm sorry, but I think you've got to find some zoo that will take her." "I'm certain you'll have no difficulty." "She'd make a wonderful attraction." "Well, we've always known that she...." "John I'm sure we can solve this in time." "That's the point, my dear." "There isn't very much time." "Your long leave has come through." "How soon?" "In a month." "So, you see...." "Well, why couldn't we take it here, in this country?" "George wouldn't mind, right, dear?" "No." "Then we could have time" "You know government policies for a completely different climate." "I'm certain we could easily find a good zoo for her in a month." "I don't want her to go to a zoo." "I want to set her free." "You can't be serious." "You'd be sentencing her to death." "You might just as well shoot her here." "He's right." "She can't fend for herself." "She's never killed to eat." "She'd starve out there in the bush." "We could teach her." "You've waited too long." "It's never been done successfully." "We could try." "You know how intelligent she is." "We could teach her, train her." "George, please, let's try." "I'm sorry, darling." "I agree with John." "Even if we could show her how to hunt and kill she'd never hold her own against wild lions." "I don't want to part with her any more than you do." "But what's wrong with sending her to a zoo?" "Everything." "I know you think I'm being foolish, but I know Elsa." "We both know she'd be miserable in a zoo." "Don't you see?" "She's been free too long." "I can't let her be caged for the rest of her life." "John, as a friend, give us just a little more time." "Give us three months to try." "Please!" "Please!" "All right, my dear, I'll get you your three months." "But you're wasting your time." "Could I have another drink, please?" "Yes, of course." "If Elsa were to go wild, it would have to be in another district and we were able to get permission to take her to a reserve 340 miles away where there was abundant game, and best of all, many lions." "Whatever George's reservations were, he did his best not to let me see them." "And I was grateful to him." "Our plan was to spend the first week taking Elsa around the new country to get her used to it." "During the second week, we intended to leave her overnight and to visit, and, if necessary, feed her in the mornings." "Afterwards, we intended to reduce her meals in the hope that it would encourage her to kill on her own or to join a wild lion." "Elsa, what are you doing?" "That is not your dinner." "Put that back." "On schedule, the day came when we took her out to leave her overnight for the first time." "Come on, Elsa, up you get." "Come on." "Come on." "Today's the day." "If that's what I think it is...." "Thanks." "Crikey." "What a bit of luck." "Right off the bat." "What a handsome fellow." "Let's keep our fingers crossed." "This could solve everything." "Do you believe in love at first sight?" "I do now." "I mean, I hope so." "George, pray!" "I am!" "So far, so good." "Why don't you get her down?" "I think we should let her handle this." "All talk and no action." "Beautiful dialogue, though." "You're not funny, George." "I mean, we should give her more time." "By all means." "May I smoke?" "No." "This could go on forever." "I think you'd better get her down." "All right." "Wait!" "We could use a little more room ourselves." "Come on, darling, get down." "Don't be afraid." "I'm sure you'll like him." "Come on, Elsa, get down." "There's a name for girls like her." "All I can say is I'm glad you didn't behave like that." "I take it you want to try again." "Yes?" "I was just thinking." "If there's anything left of that kill, and Elsa can get to it and with the fresh scent of lions on it, she just might get the general idea." "Well, that's good thinking." "I have a thought." "If we take the kill to that fellow back there and he thinks she's a good provider, he might get the general idea, too." "Right." "Now it all depends on...." "Unfortunately, it turned out to be a large pride who thoroughly and unhurriedly enjoyed their family picnic." "It was several hours before we got to the remains of the zebra and take it and Elsa back to the young bachelor." "Luckily, he had remained near his tree." "But he was most annoyed by Elsa's ignorance of lion etiquette which calls for the lioness to bring home the food and then sit by until her lord and master has had his fill." "Poor Elsa, of course, didn't know that and was properly chastised." "That evening, we suffered all the agony of parents whose teenage daughter is out on her first date." "We returned the next day, only to find Elsa minus both the young lion and her food." "She was so forlorn and so happy to see us that I felt guilty about the entire episode." "We took her back to camp." "We resumed basic training." "According to plan, we'd cut down on her meals hoping that hunger would encourage her to kill for food." "But to Elsa, stalking other animals was just a game she never took seriously." "And she obviously enjoyed herself so much that it was difficult to be angry with her." "George continued to take her out every day, without result." "Then, one day, she suddenly came upon a warthog." "But Elsa's inability to feed herself meant that George had to leave the reserve every day and drive a very long distance to another area where the shooting of game was allowed." "Tired?" "Yes, I am, a little." "Have a drink." "Yes." "As the weeks sped by we continued to leave her overnight as much as possible only to find her in the morning right where we'd left her hungry and pathetically happy to see us." "Then, one night just before dawn...." "It was Elsa, and it was soon apparent that she'd had some kind of encounter with other lions, or perhaps a leopard, and had not come off too well." "Sweetie." "George." "I can't think how she managed to find us." "Yes, she does all the wrong things right." "Sorry." "After that, she refused to venture out of camp." "Nice." "Yes, it is, isn't it?" "Have you any idea what time it is?" "I left my watch in the tent." "No, I meant the time of year." "We've only two weeks left." "The rains will be on us soon." "Yes, I know." "I know." "I've been thinking." "We've got to take Elsa out, and leave her for at least a week and we've got to move camp so that she can't find us." "Make or break, is that it?" "Yes, I'm afraid so." "All right." "You've missed out that pretty bit over there." "Did I?" "Yes." "At last, both the week and the rains came to an end." "Well, let's try this." "All my nightmares had come true." "It won't do." "Look, by now it's obvious she can't make it." "She can't fend for herself, mix with her own kind or do anything a wild lion must do to survive." "We've...." "You've done too good a job on her." "We've made her tame, and it's too late to try to let her go wild now." "All we're doing is making her miserable, torturing her." "How can you be so cruel?" "Do you think I enjoy it?" "I don't know what goes on in that head of yours anymore." "You have this fixed idea." "What's wrong with a zoo, anyway?" "Nothing, except that she won't be free." "And is freedom so important?" "Yes." "Yes!" "She was born free, and she has the right to live free." "Why don't we live in a nice comfortable city?" "Other people do." "But we've chosen to live out here because it represents freedom." "We can breathe." "Because we're fit for it." "So could she be!" "She can." "She'll be safe in the zoo." "Yes, safe." "And fat and lazy and dull and stupid like some cow on a milking machine." "Joy tell me the truth." "You just don't want to give her up." "What you're hoping is that she can stay out here wild but not too wild so you can see her every now and then." "That's it, isn't it?" "It's not the whole truth, but I don't deny I'd like it." "It's impossible!" "It can't happen." "Even if she should be able to go wild, which I doubt that'd be the end." "You'd never see her again." "Then at least she'd be free." "She wouldn't be in a cage for the rest of her life." "And if she gets herself killed in the process?" "I'd never forgive myself, I suppose." "Although, at one time, we were afraid she would die Elsa did recover." "And when she did, she seemed somehow different." "Thanks to John who was wonderfully kind, despite his reservations we were able to get a time extension as well as permission to take her to another area only 35 miles from where she was born and where George could shoot wild game." "Now, as if she knew what was required of her she started going out alone, sometimes for days at a time only returning when she was hungry." "Then one day, when we'd followed her into the bush she caught sight of another warthog." "Well, there's no doubt at all whose kill that is." "Congratulations." "After that, she proved again and again that she could feed herself and so when she came into season we took her out for what became her most dangerous and final test." "No, don't." "I'm sorry." "I couldn't stand anymore." "It's all right." "It's really all right." "She's done it." "She's crossed the bridge." "She's wild now." "And free." "You should be very happy." "And proud." "We've...." "You've done something no one else has ever done." "And you should be very proud." "I am of her." "Well, you might at least stop laughing." "George?" "Yes?" "Suppose we never see her again?" "We will." "We'll come back." "We'll come here as soon as our leave is over before we do anything else." "And we'll find out how she's been." "Thank you." "Thank you very much for everything." "We did go back." "We had only a week in which to find her." "We camped in the same spot, and went to look for her every day hoping that we would see her and wondering what she would be like if we did." "But we never found any trace of her." "Finally, it was our last day." "Wait." "Let's try just once more." "Nothing." "We start back today." "Elsa and her babies stayed with us all the afternoon and she made it quite clear that she was happy to be with us again." "I was dying to pick them up and hold them, as I had done with Elsa and her sisters." "But I knew that it would be wrong." "They were wild and it was better now that they remained wild." "Her master's voice." "Jump up, Elsa." "We saw her many times again, born free and living free." "We saw her many times again, born free and living free." "But to us she was always the same:" "Our friend, Elsa."