It always has been tame and is tame with everybody, not only with all Nemestronia's household, not only with frequenters of her reception rooms, but also with casual visitors, total strangers to it.

Nobody would think it anything wonderful for Hedulio to handle Nemestronia's leopard." "I do not mean merely handling," said Agathemer respectfully.

"I mean something quite amazing in itself.

And that leads me to remark that none of you gentlemen has mentioned or referred to what I regard as one of my master's most amazing feats and one which he has repeated countless times in the presence of uncountable witnesses: I mean taking a bone away from a vicious dog which has never seen him before.

I think that amounts to a portent, or would if it had not happened so often." "Incredible!" cried Tanno.
Then the whole room broke into a hubbub of confirmations and corroborations of Agathemer's statement.
"I give in," Tanno declared, "now for the leopard." "I am told," said Agathemer, "that all such animals, lions, tigers, leopards, panthers and lynxes, when they set out on their nocturnal prowlings, intent on catching prey, have the strange habit of giving notice to all creatures within hearing that they are about to begin hunting, by a series of roars, snarls, squalls, screams, screeches or whatever they may be properly called for each variety of animal.
"Now one of the tricks of Nemestronia's leopard, which she is fond of exhibiting to her guests, is its method of approaching any live creature exposed to its mercy for its food.