The big cat circled the little creatures in the clearing in a well-practised stalk. They were helplessly unaware of its presence and consequently unaware of what it was thinking of doing to them. They were gangly, naked of fur, and jabbered incessantly. This will be easy pickings, the big cat would have thought if it were capable of such a thing.
Then one of the gangly things did something with a rock and stick and suddenly the night got a lot brighter. Flames licked the air. From its position in the undergrowth, the big cat recoiled. If it could have spoken, it might have said, ‘What the deuce?’
All fear now, unable to comprehend what the gangly things had just done, the big cat slinked away into the jungle, grumbling to itself. It consoled itself with the notion that this was probably just a fluke and would have no lasting consequences.
Paddy Dobson
29th November 2023