Precious and the Mystery of the Missing Lion: A New Case for Precious Ramotswe Read Online Free Page B

lions had been there only a few minutes earlier, Tom and his men looked a bit anxious.
    “I hope they’re not too close,” said one of the men, giving a little shiver as he spoke.
    “We’ll soon find out,” said Precious. “Let’s follow their tracks – keeping a careful look-out, of course.”
    “A
very
careful look-out,” said Tom.

HEY WENT FORWARD SLOWLY , looking down at the ground very carefully before they put down
their feet. This was so that they should not step on a twig that might snap and give them away to any creature that was listening. And lions do listen for anything that is coming their way –
they are also very watchful animals, even if they are big and fierce and have large teeth that are very good at biting ... Precious did not like to think of that, and neither, I imagine, do
you.
    It was Precious who spotted them first. At first she thought it was just one of those tricks that your eyes can play. She thought it might just be a branch swaying in the breeze, or the shadow
of a tiny cloud moving across the ground. But then she realised that it was neither of these, and that what she was looking at was a lion.
     

     
    Once she knew that, then in an instant she saw all the rest. She saw that what looked like a pile of brown leaves on the ground was actually a young lion lying with his head on his front paws.
And then what looked like a bendy branch in front of a bush was in fact a large lioness that was standing quite still looking up at the sky. Altogether she saw six lions, and they were not far
away, really probably not much further than you or I could throw a small stone.
    She reached out to tap Khumo on the shoulder. He turned round, looked where she was pointing, and then he let out a very low whistle to alert Tom.
    “Over there,” whispered Khumo. “Look!”
    Precious and Khumo both knew that they were safe as long as they made no sudden movements or sounds. This was because the wind was blowing from the direction of the lions. Had it been blowing
the other way, then the lions would have smelled them very easily. Lions have a good sense of smell, and can tell when people or other animals are nearby just by lifting their great lion noses into
the air and sniffing at the breeze.
    Tom studied the lions and the way they were lying around resting. After a few moments, he whispered to Precious and Khumo, telling them what his plan was.
    “Teddy is right on the edge of the pride,” he said. “See him over there?”
    They looked. Sure enough, Teddy was some distance away from the others, under the shade provided by a tree. He seemed to be having his afternoon nap.
    “I’m going to creep up towards him,” Tom went on. “There’s quite a bit of cover, and that means that they won’t see me. Once I reach him, he’ll remember
me, of course, and will come back here with me. He always obeys me, especially if I offer him one of his lion treats.”
    He showed them a large biscuit – rather like a dog biscuit – that he was holding in his right hand.
    “Isn’t that a bit dangerous?” asked Precious. “What if the other lions see you? What then?”
    “They won’t see me,” said Tom. “I will be very careful.”
     

     
    Precious glanced at Khumo, who shrugged. It seemed as if he thought that if this was what Tom wanted to do, then he could not do anything to stop him. After all, Tom was an adult, and it is
often rather difficult for children to stop adults from doing things once they have made up their minds to do it.
    Dropping to his hands and knees, Tom began to crawl through the undergrowth. He moved very slowly, and he was well-covered by the grass and bushes, so Precious stopped worrying quite so much
that he would be seen. Perhaps Tom really knew what he was doing after all, she thought.
    But then something dreadful happened. It was so dreadful that Precious almost gave a shriek when she discovered it. Fortunately she did not, because that would have made matters a