Week 2 Story: Trickster Tale from a Tiger's Perspective

*This story is told from the perspective of a tiger.*

All personal thoughts of the tiger are in italics.

Darkness quickly gives way to light as I open my eyes.

Where am I?

I look around, soon remembering what had happened. I had been prowling through the jungle in search of a meal. Though I did not have much personal hunger, another animal did: my young cub. The cub had not eaten in several days and was in desperate need of a meal. I remembered seeing something flash behind several trees, and in the midst of pursuing, I lost consciousness.

Looking around, I realize what had caused this: a trap. Its jaws had quickly surrounded me as I initiated the trigger, and I found myself unable to escape.

I need to feed my cub.

I look at the edges of the cage and try to pry it open with my paws. No luck. Beginning to despair, I slump down, when suddenly, a figure enters my periphery.

He appears to be a Brahman.

I quickly perk up.

"Sir, sir - please help me! I have found myself stuck in this cage, and I need to get out of here. Won't you help?"

The Brahman smirks, disbelieving.

"And who says you won't eat me upon being freed, eh?"

I can't promise you anything. My cub is dying.

"I would never! The only way to repay one so kind would be kindness in return. A tiger can be a valuable friend to have."

The Brahman seems to contemplate his options. He looks around, and leans forward to open the cage.

The second it clicks open, I launch out with ferocity and pin him to the ground.

Finally. I can provide for myself and my child.

"YOU PROMISED!" exclaims the Brahman, terrified and betrayed.

I look in his eyes, a quick feeling of pity coursing through my body. I do feel bad about being dishonorable, but I can't help my situation. Not everybody can win.

The Brahman continues. "Let me fight my case to those around me. Should they back me up, let me freed!"

I suppose. I can follow him and capture him later if necessity requires.

"Fine."

I release the pressure of my paw, and the Brahman takes off running to find defendants...

Several minutes later, as I wait by the cage, the Brahman returns - but he is not alone. He is accompanied by a jackal, a rather sly-looking fellow. I had seen him around before. He was slimy, using words to manipulate others around him, always for selfish ambition.

Be careful.

However, the jackal seems to be in a state of confusion about the sequence of events.

"Say that again, Brahman? You were wandering along through the woods, and you came across this tiger standing next to the cage?"

The Brahman, exasperated, tries to explain for what seems to be the hundredth time.

"No! I told you, the tiger was trapped IN the cage before tricking me to open it."

The information doesn't register on the jackal's face. Time is running out, and I need to bring this food home for my cub.

The quickest way for him to understand will be if I show him what happened.

I roar, grabbing the attention of the Brahman and the jackal.

"Listen! I was hunting, when suddenly the trap caught me unaware. Just like this."

I feign running past the cage and jump inside, to reiterate my point. But the cage closes and locks.

What? NO!

The jackal laughs and ventures back into the woods. The Brahman grins, realizing the trickery of the jackal. With one backwards glance, he wanders off as well, laughing as he walks.

I set my paw against the edge of cage in an act of hopelessness, and the almost silent click of the lock becoming unhinged nearly escapes my attention. The edge of the cage slowly swings open, as the Brahman continues to walk into the distance.

Dinner time.

Author's note:

The original story presents a trickster tale. A Brahman wandering through the woods encounters a trapped tiger. The tiger promises not to hurt him once freed. However, once the Brahman frees him, the tiger does not keep his promise. The Brahman pleads for justice by seeking the defense of bystanders. He consults a tree and a buffalo for help, but both characters fail to back up him up. Finally, the Brahman encounters a jackal, who appears to be feigning confusion about the story. The two return to the tiger. As the jackal continues to be lost regarding what actually happened, the tiger becomes enraged and decides to simply show where he was trapped for the sake of simplicity. While back in the cage, the jackal locks it shut, and the story ends in a similar manner to how it began. In retelling this story, I took on the perspective of the tiger. Instead of being a ferocious monster, the tiger was actually a mother trying to provide for her cub. The tiger gets back in the cage not out of frustration at the jackal, but out of a desire to quickly take food back to her child. This retelling also ends differently in that the jackal and Brahman wander off in apparent victory, but the cage accidentally becomes unlocked, thus freeing the tiger.

Image Information: A tigress and her cub.

Link: Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography. "The Tiger, The Brahman, and the Jackal" from Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs.

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