Week 2 Story: Tiger beats Jackal with Human
A Tiger Who Refused
to be Tricked: a Sequel
Many are of the opinion that tigers are mean, ferocious
beasts who will attack without warning. The contrary is more accurate of a description.
A good way to view a tigers life is a cat scaled up. A good cat will catch and
eat mice and birds when he is hungry, so in the same way a tiger will hunt its
prey on a larger scale. Substituting wildebeasts and deer for mice and birds.
So imagine the tiger’s surprise when he is set upon by a
terrified human and a vindictive jackal and tricked into a cage.
“I am simply living my life, you two are not worth my time.
Now let me out of this blasted cage at once” said the Tiger in his deep, soothing
voice.
“Lies” cried the Jackal, “we saw what you did to that deer
over the hill.” As he pointed aghast at the remnants of the Tigers breakfast.
“Ay, that we did” agreed the human. Looking at the Jackal
with distrust.
“Deer are a challenge to hunt, the human, however provides
no sport and is not worth my time” stated the Tiger. “Human let me out of this
cage at once.”
“Well if you insist, you didn’t kill me the last time I let
you out” sighed the malleable Human.
“DO NOT TOUCH THE—‘’ shrieked the Jackal, interrupted by the
tiger who set upon the Jackal before he had time to register the sound of the
gate squeaking.
“Alas, Jackal has just been added to my prey” chuckled the
Tiger “thank you for your kindness human, and sorry about the silly game I
played earlier, I was merely bored of this cage and I required sustenance. Be
on your way.”
The human bade his farewell, leaving the Tiger to finish his
meal with a new understanding of the ways of the world. He realized now, that
he was nowhere near the top of the food chain, and to never trust a Jackal.
Authors Note:
I based this story off of Tricksters: Tiger, Brahman, and Jackal, a story where a Tiger tricks a human into opening his cage, and then is tricked himself into getting shut back in by a Jackal. A series of events led to this end this happening involving a road and communication with other animals. I enjoyed the story, but I did not like the idea of a Jackal out smarting a Tiger. While the irony is obvious, I hate to see a tiger bested by Jackal in a battle of wits. I personally hold tigers in high esteem and my short story reflects a power change that I believe was necessary.
Bibliography. "Tricksters: Tiger, Brahman, and Jackal" Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs. Story Source.
Image: Funny Tiger snowball fight by Weird Facts- World press.com. 2017. Image Source: Funny Tiger
Hi Matt! Great story. When reading the original story, I also did not like how the jackal outwitted the tiger. I liked how you changed it to make the tiger outwit the jackal. I also liked how you could see the tiger winning from the beginning, like you said it was ironic. I actually prefer straight forward stories and knowing what is going to happen. Great job!
ReplyDeleteMatt, first I would like to say that I like the image you chose for this story. It helps set the mood and let’s the reader know that the tiger is most likely going to win in this scenario. I like how you didn’t stick to the original plot and instead made it your own due to your opinions of tigers.
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