During our afternoon at the farm, the workers were very busy. They were getting things ready for our photo shoot, they were giving several kids pony rides, and they were caging the tiger so it could be in a parade later in the weekend.
Somehow they coaxed it into a small metal box, then lifted it onto a trailer. Later, they build a cage on the trailer, around the box. But that was later. For much of the afternoon, the box was just sitting on the trailer in the sun.
After it had been there a while, we walked over to take a look. There were small holes all around the edges, and if we stuck our eyes right up to them, we could see the tiger inside.
There was something fascinating about being that close to a live tiger.
I was taking photos through one of the holes when I turned to talk to one of the other guys. I left my hand against the box. No part of it was sticking into the box — I was very close to being a wise man by this time. I suddenly felt a burst of hot breath and a touch of something decidedly nonmetallic.