Page:The Land of Wonders - O Conaire.pdf/132

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126
THE LAND OF WONDERS

allowing him to follow him like a dog. They need not have feared, however, for Daddy-oh had no teeth, nor claws, nor eyes, and he did not want fight. Daddy-oh and the Burla were great friends until the lion died of old age.

The Burla did not grow very tall, but he had great bulk and tremendous strength. He is now over fifty, but ten or twelve years ago there was not a more powerful man in Galway. There was a strolling showman, nick-named "The Little Yellow Man," who, having failed to buy the old lion to put in his show, thought to steal him. He must not have been a very clever thief, for the Burla caught him, and the thief spent a long month in hospital.

There is not a day in the year that the Burla cannot be seen on the Long Wall in Galway walking in the queerest way. He is very nice to people, and if the weather is fine and his rheumatism not too bad, he will tell you a lot that have omitted, but for your life don't call him "The Burla," and don't let the word "monkey" cross your lips.