In the first cage was the tiger that had excited the child. Long and lean with striking black stripes, it prowled up and down its cage, its amber eyes taking in everything.
Selena stood entranced.
“Hello,” she called out in a calm voice.
The tiger stopped its pacing and looked at her. She spoke to it again and moved closer and the tiger behind its bars pushed its head towards her in a yearning way.
She continued talking to the tiger, holding its gaze with her eyes and then stuck out her hand, intending to try and stroke its head.
Immediately she was pulled away from the cage by one of the circus workers.
“Don’t do that, miss, you’ll lose it,” he warned her.
“He seems so sad,” sighed Selena, looking back at the tiger, which had now settled down onto the floor of the cage still gazing at her.
“He’s not really savage, is he?”
“Not with me, miss, but then ’e knows me, see? So long as ’e’s kept fed and watered, ’e’s all right.”