After a few months, the grandmother saw for the first time how it skillfully tore apart an old pillow with its claws – and then came the terrifying realization: this was not a kitten. It was a real lion.

But by then, the grandmother could no longer give it away. The lion had become her friend, her comfort in loneliness. The grandmother had no family left, and this creature had become the meaning of her life. She hid the wild animal from the neighbors, drawing the curtains and rarely going outside.