Born Free Page #4

Come on.

Come on. Today's the day.

If that's what I think it is...

Thanks.

Crikey. What a bit of lucK.

Right off the bat.

What a handsome fellow.

Let's keep our fingers crossed.

This could solve everything.

- Do you believe in love at first sight?

- I do now. I mean, I hope so.

- George, pray!

- I am!

So far, so good.

Why don't you get her down?

I think we should let her handle this.

All talk and no action.

Beautiful dialogue, though.

You're not funny, George.

I mean, we should give her more time.

- By all means. May I smoke?

- No.

This could go on forever.

I think you'd better get her down.

All right.

Wait!

We could use a little more room ourselves.

Come on, darling, get down.

Don't be afraid.

I'm sure you'll like him.

Come on, Elsa, get down.

There's a name for girls like her.

All I can say is I'm glad

you didn't behave like that.

I take it you want to try again.

- Yes?

- I was just thinKing.

If there's anything left of that Kill,

and Elsa can get to it...

...and with the fresh scent of lions on it,

she just might get the general idea.

Well, that's good thinKing.

I have a thought.

If we take the kill

to that fellow back there...

...and he thinks she's a good provider,

he might get the general idea, too.

Right. Now it all depends on...

Unfortunately,

it turned out to be a large pride...

...who thoroughly and unhurriedly

enjoyed their family picnic.

It was several hours before we got

to the remains of the zebra...

...and take it and Elsa

back to the young bachelor.

Luckily, he had remained near his tree.

But he was most annoyed

by Elsa's ignorance of lion etiquette...

...which calls for the lioness

to bring home the food...

...and then sit by until her lord

and master has had his fill.

Poor Elsa, of course, didn't know that

and was properly chastised.

That evening,

we suffered all the agony of parents...

...whose teenage daughter

is out on her first date.

We returned the next day, only to find Elsa

minus both the young lion and her food.

She was so forlorn

and so happy to see us...

...that I felt guilty about the entire episode.

We took her back to camp.

We resumed basic training.

According to plan,

we'd cut down on her meals...

...hoping that hunger

would encourage her to kill for food.

But to Elsa, stalking other animals

was just a game she never took seriously.

And she obviously enjoyed herself so much

that it was difficult to be angry with her.

George continued to take her out

every day, without result.

Then, one day,

she suddenly came upon a waethog.

But Elsa's inability to feed herself...

...meant that George

had to leave the reserve every day...

...and drive a very long distance

to another area...

...where the shooting of game was allowed.

- Tired?

- Yes, I am, a little.

Have a drink.

Yes.

As the weeks sped by...

...we continued to leave her overnight

as much as possible...

...only to find her in the morning

right where we'd left her...

...hungry and pathetically happy to see us.

Then, one night just before dawn...

It was Elsa, and it was soon apparent

that she'd had some kind of encounter...

...with other lions, or perhaps a leopard,

and had not come off too well.

Sweetie. George.

I can't think how she managed to find us.

Yes, she does all the wrong things right.

Sorry.

After that,

she refused to venture out of camp.

Nice.

Yes, it is, isn't it?

- Have you any idea what time it is?

- I left my watch in the tent.

No, I meant the time of year.

We've only two weeks left.

The rains will be on us soon.

Yes, I know. I know.

I've been thinking.

We've got to take Elsa out,

and leave her for at least a week...

...and we've got to move camp

so that she can't find us.

Make or break, is that it?

Yes, I'm afraid so.

All right.

You've missed out

that pretty bit over there.

Did I?

Yes.

At last, both the week

and the rains came to an end.

Well, let's try this.

All my nightmares had come true.

It won't do.

Look, by now it's obvious

she can't make it.

She can't fend for herself,

mix with her own Kind...

...or do anything

a wild lion must do to survive.

We've...

You've done too good a job on her.

We've made her tame, and it's too late

to try to let her go wild now.

All we're doing is making her miserable,

torturing her.

How can you be so cruel?

Do you think I enjoy it?

I don't know what goes on

in that head of yours anymore.

You have this fixed idea.

What's wrong with a zoo, anyway?

Nothing, except that she won't be free.

- And is freedom so important?

- Yes.

Yes!

She was born free,

and she has the right to live free.

Why don't we live in a nice

comfortable city? Other people do.

But we've chosen to live out here because

it represents freedom. We can breathe.

- Because we're fit for it.

- So could she be! She can.

- She'll be safe in the zoo.

- Yes, safe.

And fat and lazy and dull...

...and stupid like some cow

on a milking machine.

Joy...

...tell me the truth.

You just don't want to give her up.

What you're hoping is that she can stay

out here wild but not too wild...

...so you can see her every now and then.

That's it, isn't it?

It's not the whole truth,

but I don't deny I'd like it.

It's impossible! It can't happen.

Even if she should be able to go wild,

which I doubt...

...that'd be the end.

You'd never see her again.

Then at least she'd be free.

She wouldn't be in a cage

for the rest of her life.

And if she gets herself killed

in the process?

I'd never forgive myself, I suppose.

Although, at one time,

we were afraid she would die...

...Elsa did recover.

And when she did,

she seemed somehow different.

Thanks to John...

...who was wonderfully kind,

despite his reservations...

...we were able to get a time extension...

...as well as permission

to take her to another area...

...only 35 miles from where she was born...

...and where George

could shoot wild game.

Now, as if she knew

what was required of her...

...she started going out alone,

sometimes for days at a time...

...only returning when she was hungry.

Then one day,

when we'd followed her into the bush...

...she caught sight of another waethog.

Well, there's no doubt at all

whose kill that is.

Congratulations.

After that, she proved again and again

that she could feed herself...

...and so when she came into season...

...we took her out for what became

her most dangerous and final test.

No, don't.

I'm sorry.

I couldn't stand anymore.

It's all right. It's really all right.

She's done it. She's crossed the bridge.

She's wild now. And free.

You should be very happy. And proud.

We've...

You've done something

no one else has ever done.

And you should be very proud.

I am...

...of her.

Well, you might at least stop laughing.

- George?

- Yes?

Suppose we never see her again?

We will. We'll come back.

We'll come here

as soon as our leave is over...

...before we do anything else.

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