"For my next trick, I'll get a tiger on stage!" said Mesmero.
As soon as John heard the word, "Tiger," his whole attitude changed. He fell on his hands and knees and let out a loud roar. Although everyone else could tell that he was still human, John now believed that he was Shasta, the circus tiger. Confused, he stared at his hands (or were they paws?) and began to groom them like a cat.
"Let's hear it for Shasta!" Mesmero cried. The whole audience burst out in laughter at the man's sudden change in behavior.
"Here Shasta, here kitty." the hypnotist called as he patted his knees. John (no, he was Shasta) came up to his master and started rubbing against his legs, purring loudly.
"Shasta, let's practice one of your tricks. How about... Stand up!" Mesmero commanded. In Shasta's mind, he put his front paws on his master, and balancing on his hind paws, began hopping away with his tail swinging back and forth, before falling down due to his center of gravity. To the rest of the world, he was just a crazy man hopping on his tiptoes with his hands curled out in front of him.
"Good job. Good job. I think you deserve a reward. Let's get you some lunch."
The hypnotist pulled a can of tuna fish, a bottle of milk, and two bowls from his bag. He casually emptied the tuna fish in one bowl and poured some milk in the other.
"Enjoy!"
Shasta sniffed this new offering and began to eat the tuna face first. As he was dining, he moved to the other bowl and lapped up the milk like a cat. As he finished his meal, the hypnotist called out another command.