DANIEL AND THE LION

• Isaac Ben-salamon, Grade 4
• Short Story
• 2015

Daniel and the lion

There once lived a 12 year old boy name Daniel Jameson. Daniel lived in a small little house in Disappointment Hill, somewhere in Australia. He used to live in Diapur, also in Australia but there was a drought and Daniel had to move to his new home, in Disappointment Hill. Daniel had a very annoying 3 year old sister called Emma and an older brother called Mikey. Ever since Daniel was little, Mr and Mrs Jameson were always staying late at the zoo where they worked. Daniel always used to beg for them to bring home a baby panda or a turtle but every time it was the same answer: no. Also when you move towns, you also move schools. So Daniel parents made him attend Disappointment Middle School, which is as disappointing as it sounds. In only a few weeks Daniel had made new friends; Ethan and Matt (short for Matthew). All tough they were good friends, Ethan and Matt could be annoying at times.
It was a Sunday morning and Daniels parents had promised a trip to the zoo. Unlike his siblings Daniel was actually excited to be going to the zoo because he loved animals. Mikey just slugged off and said he was going to his friends place. As Daniel, Emma and Mr and Mrs Jameson hopped into the car Daniel was pumping with adrenalin. When they finally got there Daniel stood there in awe. They first went to see the elephants, which were walking around like they own the place and then the monkeys who looked like they were doing some kind of synchronize dance. But finally, Daniels favourite animal, the lion. As they walked cautiously to the enclosure Daniel spotted something unusual; a man putting up a sign that read: LAST DAY. COMPLETE DESTRUCTION ON THURSDAY. The man who put up the sign walked pass and Daniel asked him ‘what are you going to do with all these animals?’ The man looked at Daniel and said ‘They’re going to a better place, Son’. Daniel didn’t like the sound of that. He told his parents and they said they couldn’t do anything about it other than go to the manager and argue with him. And that’s exactly what he did. He had a big long talk and the manager told him that if he wanted to save the animals he would have to take them home by 10 days. Daniel told his parents about this and they said they didn’t have the money to buy all the trailers and tools and that he’d have to earn the money himself. So for the next 10 days Daniel was washing people’s cars for $20 per hour. By the end of the week he’d made himself $580. That was enough to buy a few pools and trailers to take a few to another zoo. Daniels parents let him keep one animal. Daniel chose his favourite animal, the lion and named him Jerry.

The End