In the Cage of Beast by Alexandr Kuprin. Short summary

5 seconds

The trainer is attacked by a bear. There are stories like that. But there are worse ones. Drunken performers accidentally walk into a cage with lions. The animals don’t touch them. It’s not until the next day that the circus performers are horrified.

1 minute

A young boy Yashka works as an assistant to the animal trainer. The performer is going to fire him for drunkenness. Before the benefit, Yashka throws a wounded pigeon into the bear’s cage. The animal tastes blood and disobeys the animal trainer during the performance.

The audience whistles. The bear takes a swing at the performer. There is a commotion. Trainer hits the bear with a whip and retreats to the corridor to get away from the arena. Circus performers fight off a colleague.

People get used to these things in the circus, but there are worse stories. Once a clown and an animal trainer have a drink in the dressing room after a show. The circus lights are turned off, and the colleagues are lost in complete darkness in the corridors.

They find a door and enter, ignoring the smell of raw meat and animal droppings. Once they get their bearings in the dark, the pals find that they have climbed into a cage with lions.

However, the animals do not hurt their friends. The artists instantly sober up, crawl out of the cage on all fours, and slam the door. Only the next day, remembering the adventure, the trainer is truly terrified.