What strange jobs I’ve had in my life

There was a village with a little circus whose lion had suddenly died. The circus director asked a poor old Jewish man if he would pretend to be the lion, and the man agreed since he needed the money. The director said: “All you have to do is wear the lion’s fur and sit in the cage, and people will believe you’re a lion.” And so the man did, muttering to himself, “What strange jobs I’ve had in my life,” when his thoughts were interrupted by a noise. He turned just in time to see another lion creeping into his cage and fixing him with a hungry stare. Trembling, cowering, not knowing how to save himself, the man did the only thing he could think of – vociferously chant a Hebrew prayer. No sooner had he uttered the first desperate words, Shema Yisroel (Hear O Israel) … than the other lion joined in with adonai elohenu (the Lord our God), and the two would-be-lions finished the prayer together.

from the most excellent book (so far) The Zookeeper’s wife by Diane Ackerman