Page 70 - The Red Well-Read Reader

The Red Well-Read Reader

Story 95

As the Lion Leapt

Through the fields the safari swept

Until we came upon a lion that slept.

Silently we crept

But the beast awoke -

Our passage, it wouldn’t accept.

We were terribly inept

And instantly wept;

That is, all except

Our guide who kept

A lariat,
With which to make an adept

Intercept
Of the lion as it leapt.

Story 96

A Financial Mess

"Yes, Ma’am," I confess, "Bess and I gambled playing chess. It was fun, more or

less.

"We were playing like money was hot off the press ! Though truly, it was utterly

for•tune•less. Bess, she was mer•ci•less. She left me not only pen•ni•less, but

clothes•less, for she took all my money and my brand-new dress."

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