This is how the colonel and the lieutenant-colonel of a French regiment
in Algeria were lionized. The major of the regiment one day came across
a lion suffering grievous pain from a thorn in his paw. Pitying the
poor animal, the major extracted the thorn. Considering what he could do
in return for the kindness, the grateful lion secured a copy of the army
register, ran his eye over the list of officers in the gentle major's
regiment, and waylaid and devoured both the colonel and the
lieutenant-colonel, so that his friend, the major, could be promoted.