The nine children were giving out snacks next to the lake when suddenly they heard from the forest behind them some strange cat-like noises. They did not sound like any cat sounds they had ever heard, and they were hoarse and straining. A chill ran through the group.
"Did you hear that?" Lena asked her friends turning towards them with wide eyes of concern.
"Yeah, what was that?" Jonas stared wide-eyed with curiosity, instinctively taking one step backward as a prickle of fear danced across his skin.
It was now upon them to investigate the sounds, thus following them deeper into the forest. With each step they took closer to the sounds of animals in distress, their hearts sank. The air grew thick with something just not right.
Coming to the entrance of the pine forest, they saw that two cages containing medium-sized animals had been left behind. There was a tarp over these cages, but as they raised it, they were shocked at what they saw.
"Incredible. In one cage had been three lion cubs; in another cage, three cubs of tigers. "Wilhelm's voice shook with anger. A vision of such magnificent creatures so small, so helpless, was a heartbeat.
The team was utterly shocked. Such animals did not exist in Sweden, and there was only one explanation for them: smuggled from either Africa or Asia by animal smugglers. It then came upon them like a bolt of lightning.
"We have to call the authorities," Sophia exclaimed, "now." A surge of adrenaline rushed through her as she knew they had to take urgent action.
Wilhelm agreed, and they quickly called. Soon the authorities came and took the cubs for care and rehabilitation. The children stood in mixed feelings of relief and sadness as the cubs were loaded into the vehicles.
"I can't believe someone would do something like this," Emma said as her voice shook with anger.
"That's horrible," Charlotte said as tears welled up in her eyes.
The group embraced each other, glad that they had finally found cubs and were in the position to help them. They had been so sure that they did the right thing when they called the authorities and proud of themselves. It was so saddening to see the amount of cruelty animals face in this world, but it only made their sense of empathy so much stronger, building up their determination to be able to protect them.