Zazhong Mao
by Joseph Newsum
(Derby, England)
Pronounced: (Zou-jong Mao)
This fast creature has the head of a Lion, a body of a Tiger, legs of a Cheetah and a tail of a Puma.
This agile Big Cat Hybrid was known to steal farm animals in Japan in the 1700s. They were called Demons until one day when a kind-hearted man found an injured Zazhong Mao in the forest.
At the time he didn't know what it was but all he could see was that it was badly injured. He ripped a piece of his shirt and rapped it around the poor defence-less creature's wound and cared for it until it was healthy again.
When the Zazhong Mao was fully healed the man left it and said "Now you are well I will leave you to live alone." As the man left the Zazhong Mao it felt a warm feeling in its heart.
Two days later the man got home from fetching water from the nearby well, he noticed that his mighty stallion was spooked by something near his house. As he got closer a familiar creature prowled around the corner of his cottage - it was the Zazhong Mao that he had saved.
After a few days the man got used to having the beast around and one day when the man’s family visited the man introduced it as his friend and companion. The family adapted to it being around the house and slowly became friends with it. One day the man died and the Zazhong Mao waited for him to return.
To this day somewhere in the deep forests of Japan the Zazhong Mao is still waiting for his master to return.