We knew that we were safe from lions, yet we all felt a little nervous when Mr. Johnson left us. We changed to our sleeping clothes while it was still light, and ate the lunch which Mrs. Johnson had prepared for us. Just as we started to eat, Dave said something about this being our last meal on earth. We all laughed, but little remarks like that at such a time make one feel rather uneasy. To be sure, we had arranged with Mr. Johnson to fire the rifle twice if we needed him, but what good would that do if he were quite a distance away and the lions only a few feet?
我们知道我们不会被狮子咬伤，但当约翰逊先生离开我们时，我们都感到有些紧张。天还亮的时候，我们换上了睡衣，吃了约翰逊夫人为我们准备的午饭。正当我们开始吃饭时，戴夫说这是我们在地球上的最后一餐了。我们都笑了，但是在这种时候，这样的小议论会使人感到很不自在。可以肯定的是，我们已经和约翰逊先生商量好了，如果我们需要他的话，就开两枪，但是如果他在相当远的地方，而狮子就在几英尺之外，那又有什么用呢?
After eating lunch in a silence broken only by a few strained whispers, we crawled under the blankets. We had been told that if the lions heard a human voice they would instantly run. It was likely, though, that even if the animals were not afraid, we would have whispered because we were all so excited. Douglas said something about getting a lion into the truck and then jumping out. This started Dave laughing. He buried his head in the pillow and laughed until we thought he was crying. When he called out, “You fellows will kill me yet!’’ we all began laughing, at the same time trying not to make a sound.
吃完午饭，只有几声勉强的低语打破了寂静，我们爬到毯子下面。我们得知，如果狮子听到人类的声音，会立刻跑开。然而，很可能即使动物们不害怕，我们也会小声说话，因为我们都很兴奋。道格拉斯说要把一头狮子放进卡车里，然后跳出来。戴夫听后笑了起来。他把头埋在枕头里，笑得我们以为他在哭。当他喊道:“你们这些家伙还是会笑死我的!”我们都笑了起来，同时尽量不出声。
