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By foreshadowing George and Lydia’s death, Bradbury creates a feeling of ever-growing danger throughout the story. The clues are there right from the beginning, when George and Lydia’s first experience in the nursery hints that the supposedly fake lions might somehow come to life. The screams heard from time to time, which the adults recognize but can’t identify, and the discovery of the couple’s bloody wallet and scarf, also foreshadow their demise. This foreshadowing creates an atmosphere of suspense and danger each time an adult visits the nursery. It seems only a matter of time before the lions attack in earnest, and each time an adult leaves the nursery alive, the suspense builds. Indeed, it initially seems that the lions and the nursery are the enemy, one whose malfunction will likely cause a tragedy. But as the story progresses, there are details that hint at Peter as the true villain. When George mentions that Peter may have tinkered with the nursery, he talks about “that I.Q. of his,” which indicates menacing possibilities. Combined with Peter’s lies about not having created Africa in the nursery, these details foreshadow Peter’s sinister involvement in his parents’ fate. This foreshadowing technique makes the climax of the story, when Peter uses deception to trap his parents in the nursery, all the more dramatic.

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