The Day I Got Peed on by a Tiger - Childhood Memories!

It was hot summer day, and I was about 5 years old when our kindergarten teacher announced (asked our parents for money) that she was taking us to the Belgrade zoo.
I remember the excitement from the day I found out I was going, to the day of the trip. I still remember the lack of sleep the night before the first trip I went to without my parents.

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I'm not sure why was I so excited, but I know I couldn't wait to see all the animals I have been reading about (two interesting facts: I was afraid of every single animal, and I could read since I was about 4). I remember the bus that took us to the zoo, I even remember the Minnie Mouse T-shirt I had on (important for the rest of the story).

The moment we got out of the bus was in front of the zoo, we stood in line, two by two, holding hands and waiting for our tickets for the best time in our lives (you do understand that I was only 5 years old). We followed our teacher, and we were not allowed to get separated from the group. One of the first animals we saw was the elephant, then rhino, giraffe and finally the tiger (the star of my blog today).

Even when I was afraid of all animals, I loved everything that had connection to cats. Tiger was the very first big cat I ever saw, and we all stood in one line as close as we could to see this magnificent creature. He was just that - amazing. Strutting around his cage, stretching and not even noticing we were there. One second we were all speechless, watching this big cat showing it's stripes, the next second the screaming started. And before I realized what is going on I got my answer, the pee came for me. The big cat decided that we were the perfect marking spot, lifted his leg and marked every child in that line.
Oh, I can still remember the face of my teacher when she saw us (or better to say smelled us). It sounds funny now, but then it was like a scene from a horror movie, children running and crying, looking for a place to wash hands and faces (the really unlucky ones). I can still smell my ruined Minnie Mouse shirt, and the interesting ride home. But the thing I remember the most was my parents laughing their pants off when they saw us!

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I was expecting everything but smiles, and it was that moment (among many others) that thought me that a smile can make everything better.

With love and smiles,
Tamara