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| Once there was a tiger who had been caught in
trap. He tried to get out but could not. Luckily for him it was not too long before
a Brahman, a holy man, happened to walk by. He called to the Brahman, "Please let me out of this cage, my friend. I am so miserable in here!" The Brahman looked at the tiger and thought for a moment. |
| "I cannot do that," he said softly.
"I am afraid that you would eat me as soon as you were free." "Oh, no!" the tiger pleaded. "I promise I would never
do such a thing. " |
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| Immediately the tiger leaped upon the poor
man, pinning him to the ground. "Fool!" he cried, "I've been hungry in there for so long. Did you really think I would pass up an easy meal? "The Brahman, began to plead even louder than the tiger had before. He begged and begged until it was the tiger's turn to think. |
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The tiger twitched his whiskers,
flexed his long claws and thought about the matter. After a few moments he said, "You feel I have been ungrateful. If you can find three things who agree with you then I will allow you to go free." The Brahman quickly got up and set about his task. He walked as fast as he could, nervously wringing his hands. Soon a large tree came into view. |
| He told the tree about the tiger. It replied,"What? You seek my sympathy with a story like that? I freely give shelter and shade to everyone that passes, and what do I get in return? They rip my tender branches off me to feed to their wretched cows. Don't bother me with such ridiculous whining. Stand up tall like me and just accept your fate!" |
| So the Brahman went on his way
until he came upon a buffalo turning a well-wheel. He explained his situation to her but
she only scoffed. "You are indeed a fool," she said coldly. "For years I provided milk to my owners, helping them feed their children. Now that I am old and have no more milk to give, they tie me to this wheel to work like a slave. Begone and do not bother me with your whimpering!" |
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| Even the road itself gave no sympathy to his problem. "Hah! I sit here providing a service to everyone in the country. All of them, big and small, rich and poor, they all use me to get where they are going but all I get in return is the ash from their pipes and the rubbish from their pockets. Leave me alone and go face your fate." |
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Along the way a jackal stopped him
and asked, "Why, holy man, you seem so sad. Whatever is the matter?" He explained the entire story and the jackal said, "Oh dear, I am so confused. Would you mind telling me that again?" So the Brahman told the story once more, this time being sure to go into greater detail. |
| Again the jackal shook his head and said, "Oh my, it just doesn't seem to make any sense. I just can't seem to understand. Perhaps we should return to the cage so that I may see for myself what has happened." |
| They both started back. When they arrived, the tiger smiled with all of his teeth and licked his furry chops. "You've been gone for a while," he said, "But I see it's now time for dinner." But the Brahman begged him to give just five more minutes. "Please, sir, but this jackal is having trouble understanding what happened. " "Very well," the tiger growled, "But make it quick." |
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| The Brahman tried again to explain the story to the jackal, taking care to mention the tree, the buffalo, and the road, but still he was confused. "I suppose I am too slow in my wits to make heads or tails of this," the jackal said, wringing his paws and waggling his big ears. "Could you perhaps explain it one more time?" |
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So the Brahman told the story one
more time. When he finished he sat back and looked at the jackal. "Oh, my head, my head, my head! It is spinning around and around! How will I ever come to understand this complex matter?" said the Jackal. At this the tiger's patience gave out. "Idiot!" he screamed. "How can you be so stupid? Here, it is not so hard to see." |
| The tiger, snarled at the poor Jackal.
"Then I will just have to show you, you stupid creature." "Now pay
attention, " he growled. "I am the tiger," and he pointed to himself. "Yes, my lord," the jackal replied. "And this is the Brahman," and he pointed to the Brahman. |
| "Yes, my lord." "And this is the cage," and he pointed to the cage. "Yes, my lord." "And when the Brahman first found me I was in the cage, like this." And the tiger crawled back into the cage to demonstrate. "Now do you understand how this all began?" he asked impatiently. "Oh, quite well, thank you," the jackal replied. |
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| And at this point he straightened up and smoothly shut the door, locking the tiger back inside. "And if you will permit me to say, "the jackal continued with a smile, "this is how things will remain." |
