The stand-off

The man only gradually became aware of the cat when he felt that SOMETHING was watching him . He had been half-sitting , half-lying , on a comfortable cushion of moss and dead leaves in the afternoon sun . The sun shone through gaps in the tall trees and the man was almost nodding off to sleep .
He had set out earlier in the day with his companions , his son , his daughter-in-law and his older brother . They had parked their car close to the sign that marked the beginning of the trail up the mountain , which would eventually lead to '' spectacular views of the surrounding countryside '' at the top.
Shortly after crossing a 'rustic' bridge and starting to ascend the trail , he realised that this excursion was not for him , so , slightly embarrassed (after all his brother WAS older than him), and not wanting to spoil the outing , he had suggested that he would find a comfortable spot , near a stream to sit and read his book and they could 'pick him up ' on their way down.
As they made their way to a likely place they passed some signs declaring '' Beware of Bears and Mountain Lions '' . He had laughed , saying that these signs were there just to add spice to the visiting tourists and that the likelyhood of these wild creatures being anywhere close to a road , was remote . He even told the old vaudville joke , '' I have a spray that keeps wild elephants away ''. The stooge answers '' But , there aren't any elephants around for THOUSANDS of miles '' , joker replies '' Yes , very effective , isn't it .''
But there was no humour in him now . The big cat ,( mountain lion ?, cougar ? ) was crouched nearby , having apparently crept out of the woods shortly after the sound of voices ceased and the man was alone .
He had looked into the eyes of big cats before , on his visits to the zoo , usually in winter-time when he was one of few visitors . He had marvelled at the design of the creatures , and the wildness in those eyes , wondering what they were thinking....
But then he had had thick iron bars separating him from the animal....
This was different , the lion ( or was it a lioness ?) was so close that he could smell the creature .
The man didn't panic or move , after all he was already an old fart with a bad heart and none of that would help . He considered shouting but as all around him was deadly quiet , because when the big cat came on the scene all the other woodland creatures , mammals , birds and even insects had gone silent , almost as if they had formed a viewing circle around the man and the cat and were awaiting the outcome , a sudden shout might cause the big cat to pounce .
What should he do ?
On the way up he and his companions had been discussing , jokingly , what one should do if suddenly confronted by a wild bear , his daughter-in-law said the 'rule' was ....stand absolutely still , the bear can't see you if you aren't moving , his brother said , no,no no,, ...if confronted by a bear ...run .., run like blazes ...bears can't run very fast .......But his son said they were BOTH wrong ....you must run AT the bear in an agressive manner the bear will ( probably...PROBABLY ), run away because he is not expecting an attack....
Even in his present predicament the man could hardly supress an hysterical giggle thinking of his response , that he would write all these suggestions down in his note-book and refer to it if attacked by a bear....
He had thrown his back pack and his greasy stetson beside the stream ...too far to reach without serious movement , not that they would be of much help if the lion attacked , his arse was growing numb , despite the moss/leaves cushion....he had to do something.
Was the cat a lion or a lioness ? , he could'nt see ...unless it turned over ....and even if it did he probably would'n t know anyway.....lionesses were more agressive , particularly if they had cubs ....no sign of cubs ...thank God for that , what he didn't need now was a brace of cubs scrambling around and putting mum more on edge.....

The big cat lowered itself , about to jump , a perfect killing machine ,the man looked deep into the yellow,wild, merciless eyes. The man was not afraid of death . Like most men of his age he had peeped surreptitiously around the corner of life and death had no real fear for him .
But the process of DYING was different .
He had expected when that happened it would take place in a warm bed surrounded by a loving family.
Not in the open at the mercy of an animal , red raw in tooth and claw , just as he had seen his own domestic cat hunting in the garden at home where small birds and field mice were the prey...
Now HE was the prey , HE was the expected meal ...
The big cat curled its lips and and spat just like his own domestic cat , only twenty ( thirty ?) times bigger.....this was it !!!!
Suddenly he got angry and started to shout ''GET AWAY YOU BITCH .......I'M NOT AFRAID OF YOU.........I'M NOT WORTH EATING , I'M OLD , CRUSTY AND I'LL PROBABLY TASTE AWFUL''.....
He closed his eyes and put his hands over his face and waited for the pain....
Nothing.....he opened his eyes....the beast was gone
The cowardly woodland creatures started to make their noises again and in the distance he could hear the faint sound of human voices as his companions made their way down the trail....