Mark Twain

“ Tom and me clumb down the ladder and took a run to stretch our legs, and it felt amazing good; that is, the stretching did, but the sand scorched our feet like hot embers. Next, we see somebody coming, and started to meet him; but we heard Jim shout, and looked around, and he was fairly dancing, and making signs, and yelling. We couldn't make out what he said, but we was scared anyway, and begun to heel it back to the balloon. When we got close enough, we understood the words, and they made me sick:
"Run! run fo' yo' life! Hit's a lion—I kin see him thoo de glass! Run, boys! ”

“ And there was the lion, a-ripping around under me, and roaring, and springing up in the air at the ladder, and only missing it about a quarter of an inch, it seemed to me. It was delicious to be out of his reach—perfectly delicious—and made me feel good and thankful all up one side; but I was hanging there helpless, and couldn't climb, and that made me feel perfectly wretched and miserable all down the other. It is 'most seldom that a person feels so mixed like that; and it is not to be recommended, either.
Tom asked me what he better do, but I didn't know. ”

“ Towards the middle of the afternoon we got everything ready to land, and we felt pretty good, too, and proud; and we kept watching with the glasses, like Columbus discovering America. But we couldn't see nothing but ocean. ”