Presented for your examin­ation are two extraordin­ary tales of unusual pets. The first is a tale that some might consider a modern-day retelling of the classic folk tale of Androcles and the Lion. [1]


Examine, if you will, the not-so ordinary life of one Chevalier Crowther – “the skater, juggler and unicyclist, who has been travelling with a circus through Mexico”. [2]


One day, Crowther was out shooting near Vera Cruz and temporarily ceased his exert­ions to rest under a cactus tree.


“I fell fast asleep. When I slowly unclosed my eyes what I saw made me keep stiller than death.