Randy's Dandy Lions is a 1964 children's storybook by Bill Peet.
Randy's performing lions could bring down the house — except they don't react well to an audience. Fed up with the lack of results, the ringmaster hires a new lion tamer to bring the troop up to snuff, with unexpected effects.
This book contains examples of the following tropes:
- A Taste of the Lash: The ringmaster suggests a whip to make the lions perform, which kind-hearted Randy protests. The new lion tamer has absolutely no objections to using one, and it scares the lions half to death.
- Denied Food as Punishment: The ringmaster threatens to put the lions on a vegetarian diet if they don't stop roaring. The threat produces absolutely no effect.
- Gentle Touch vs. Firm Hand: Randy sees the lions as his friends and doesn't want to hurt them; the other lion tamer copiously uses a whip. Neither of them technically succeed; the lions can't overcome their skittishness under Randy and the new tamer's tactics reduce them to cowering under any cover they can find. They succeed in making the show go on in the end (because they've already been terrified so much that an audience is nothing in comparison), but only after the ringmaster asks them to do it and says he'll have to give them to the zoo if not.
- Overly Long Scream: The lions break into a fit of roaring when they can't escape from the painful and terrifying situation of being in the ring with the whip-wielding tamer. The roaring continues all night long, with only a brief pause when the lions are blasted with water to the point of near drowning during an attempt to get them to stop.
- Sleep Deprivation: Randy's lions keep the entire circus awake all night with their roaring after the disastrous show with the new, rougher tamer. The other members of the circus are so tired they can't do their jobs and the ringmaster has to refund the crowd's money as a result.
- Stage Fright: A troop of performing lions suffer from what the book refers to as 'cage fright.' They know some entertaining tricks, but once in front of an audience, they're too terrified to perform. This results in the firing of their trainer and the hiring of a new one. This does not end well.
