"Come On In"

Little Vivian Leichner, 6, wandered down a corridor in Cincinnati's Whittier School one afternoon last week and into a Natural History classroom where a William Harwood "of Leland Stanford University," guest lecturer, was showing children how tame a woman trainer had made two bears and a 200-lb. cub lioness. Terrified, Vivian Leichner turned to run.

"Come on in! They won't hurt you!" The woman, catching sight of the trembling child, persuaded her to approach the animals.

Suddenly the lioness leaped, snapped her leash, bowled Vivian over, hugged and clawed her. The bears snarled. All the children shrieked,

Only the school janitor, William Hunter, kept calm. He flung himself on the beast's back, grappled, kicked. Presently Policeman .Howard McMiller ran in to help him. After a fierce struggle, McMiller drew his revolver. Trained to fear firearms, the lioness skulked to a corner.

McMiller, badly scratched, bustled Vivian to a hospital. She was slashed from occiput to chin; her neck and arms were clawed; 50 stitches had to be taken. Cincinnati authorities recovered the lioness for a tetanus examination from Monroe, Ohio, where Harwood had hurried with all his animals in an automobile for another showing.

Despite public indignation, police said no charges would be entered against the menagerie because there are no ordinances against exhibition of animals.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.