洛杉矶以北40英里处有个叫香巴拉的野生动物保护区。露出地表的褐色巨石漫无规则地分散在保留地宽广起伏的土地上，它那粗犷的美使人想起非洲。香巴拉（梵语，意思是“所有生灵，包括人和动物，和睦相会的地方”。）是狮子和其他大型猫科动物的家园。它掩映在加利福尼亚州索尔达德峡谷令人叹为观止的壮丽景色中，令人心驰神往。

 

 

 

The Gift of Subira

 

Forty miles north of Los Angeles，there is a wildlife preserve called Shambala．With a raw beauty reminiscent1) of Africa，gigantic2) brown－rock outcroppings lay randomly dispersed throughout the sprawling land of the preserve．Shambala－－Sanskirt for “a meeting place of peace and harmony for all beings，animal and human”－－is a sanctuary3) for lions and other big cats．Nestled in the awesome grandeur of California's Soledad Canyon，it is，quite simply，breathtaking．

 

One day a small group of young people w ere at Shambala on a field trip from a local rehabilitation4) center．A lovely woman，the actress Tippi Hedren，who is the founder of Shambala，stood in front of the cheetah5) enclosure．“Her name is Subira，”Tippi said，beaming．“She's a three－year－old cheetah，not even at the height of her game．

 

Magnificent，isn't she？?

 

As though it were a well－rehearsed script，Subira turned her head to the audience and gazed into the crowd．The black lines running from her eyes to her mouth were so distinctive that they appeared to have been freshly painted on for the day's exhibition．And the closely set black spots on a tawny－colored backdrop of thick fur were so dazzling that everyone felt compelled to comment．“Oooooh，look at her，she's so beautiful．”they said in unison．I thought so，too．

 

Tippi，a friend of mine，had invited me to visit her that day；I was sitting in the front row of c hairs assembled for the visiting group．All of us continued to stare in awe－－except for a teenage boy in the back row．He groaned in what seemed boredom and disconten t．When several members of the group turned in his direction，he brushed the front of his T－shirt as though to remove dust particles，and，in a macho6) gesture calculated to impress us，rolled up the right sleeve of his shirt，further exposing his well－developed muscles．

 

Seventeen－year－old Cory had dreamed of playing major league baseball someday．That was his one and only goal．He lived and breathed baseball and dreamed of the day when he would have a following，fans who knew he was “the man．”No one doubted Cory's ability，certainly not the lead university scout for baseball talent in the state．The scout had recruited Cory，confirming a promising future．That was before the car accident．Now，it seemed nothing could replace the joy that was dashed when the boy lost his leg．

 

Cory lost more than a leg in the tragic accident；he also lost his hope．And his spirit．It left him not only physically disabled but emotionally crippled．Unable to dream of a goal other than being a major league baseball player，he was bitter and jaded，and felt just plain useless．Hopeless．Now he sat in a wheelchair，a chip on his shoulder，angry at the world．He was here today on yet another “boring field trip” from the rehab program．

 

Cory was one of the rehabilitation center's most difficult patients：Unable to summon the courage to dream new plans for the future，he gave up on not only himself but others．

 

“Get off my back，”he had told the rehab director．“You can't help me．No one can．”

 

Tippi and I continued to stand close by as the group's guide continued，“Cheetahs never feed on carrion：they eat fresh meat－－though in captivity7)，they do like people food．”

 

Carrion？The word somehow interested the boy－－or perhaps it just sounded perverse．The unpleasant young man called out，“What's that mean？”

 

“Cadaver8)，corpse9)，remains，”the young assistant responded．

 

“The cheetah doesn't eat road kill，”the boy smirked loudly．The boy' s harsh sound seemed to please the cheetah and she began purring loudly．The audience，enchanted by Subira's happy noise，oohed and aahed．

 

Enjoying the positive response－－an d always willing to flaunt－－Subira decided to give the audience a show of her skills．As if to say，“Just see how fast these spots can fly，”Subira instantly began blazing a trail of speed around the enclosure．“Oh，”sighed the crowd，“she' s so beautiful．”

 

“She only has three legs．”someone gasped．

 

“No．”the girl in the front row exclaimed，while the other astonished young people looked on in silence，aghast at what they saw．

 

No one was more stunned than Cory．Looking bewildered at the sight of this incredible animal running at full speed，he asked the question that was in everyone's mind．“How can she run that fast with three legs？”Amazed at the cheetah' s effortless，seemingly natural movements，the boy whispered，“Incredible．Just incredible．”He stared at the beautiful animal with the missing leg and he smiled，a spark of hope evident in his eyes．

 

Tippi answered from our spot behind t he group．“As you have now all noticed，Subira is very special．Since no one told her she shouldn't－－or couldn' t－－run as fast as a cheetah with four legs，she doesn't know otherwise．And so，she can．”Tippi paused for a moment，and turning to Subira，continued，“We just love her．Subira is a living example，a symbol，of what Shambala is all about：recognizing the value of all living things，even if，for any reason，they are different．”

 

The boy was silent and listened with interest as Tippi continued．“We got Subira from a zoo in Oregon．Her umbilical cord was wrapped around her leg in the womb，so it atrophied10)，causing her to lose the leg soon after she was born．With only three legs，her fate seemed hopeless．They were considering putting her to sleep at that point．”

 

Surprised，Cory asked，“Why？”

 

Tippi looked directly into Cory' s face，“Because they thought，‘What good is a three－legged cheetah？’They didn't think the public would want to see a deformed cheetah．And since it was felt that she wouldn't be able to run and act like a normal cheetah，s he served no purpose．”

 

She went on，“That's when we heard about Subira and offered our sanctuary，where she could live as normal a life as possible．”

 

“It was soon after she came to us that she demonstrated her own worth－－a unique gift of love and spirit．Really，we don't know what we'd do without her．In the past few years，the gift of Subira has touched people around the world，and without words she has become our most persuasive spokesman．Though discaded because she was an imperfect animal，she created her own worth．She truly is a most cherished and priceless gift．”

 

Abandoning all wisecracks，Cory asked softly，“Can I touch her？”

 

Seeing Subira run had switched on the light in Cory's heart and mind．It completely changed his demeanor．And his willingness to participate．At the end of the tour，the leader of the visiting group asked for a volunteer to push and hold the large rolling gate open so the van could exit the ranch．To everyone' s surprise，Cory raised his hand．

 

As the rest of the group looked on in amazement，the boy wheeled himself over to the large gate and，struggling to maneuver it open，pulled himself up from his chair．Cripping the high wire fence for support，he pushed it open．The expression on his face as he continued to hold the gate until the van passed through was one of great satisfaction．And determination．It was clear that Cory had received the gift of Subira．