Week 2 Story: The Tiger
One afternoon the tiger was wandering along trying to find a nice place to rest for the day when he heard a cry for help. Thinking it was just a normal occurrence of fate in the world he continued on until he heard it again but a little louder. Turning a little he decided he would go and investigate the sound he was hearing. When he got closer he could see a cage of sorts with the door cracked open that was covered in leaves, twigs, and other stuff from nature. Inside of it, he could hear the person crying for help.
"Hello, are you okay?" the tiger said to whatever was in the cage.
"Please help me out of here. My arm is stuck between the bars of this cage in the back" pleaded the thing in the cage.
"How do I know you will not hurt me the instant I come in that cage?" questioned the tiger.
"Please you are the first thing to come by. I have been stuck here for days and am hungry," the thing said, "Help me out of here and I will do anything that you need."
Feeling charitable the tiger decided he would help this thing in need and headed towards the cage. Sticking his head in he could not see well from the door so he decided to go all the way into the cage to help. He did not see anything in the cage with him and started to turn around when the cage door closed. Outside the door was a brahman... he was tricked.
"AHA! I caught you!" exclaimed the brahman,
"Let me out of here" cried the tiger. "What have you done, I was trying to help you!"
"You will sell for so much at the market back at the village. I cannot let you go" explained the brahman. "I'll be back with others from my village to get you soon"
With that the brahman turned around and headed back to his village to get help getting the tiger to the market. Tiger continued to cry out to the brahmans back still trying to get him to release him from the cage. Days went by as the tiger yanked, pulled, pushed on the bars of the cage trying to find a way out as he grew hungrier. He made sure to listen for others that could help him out of the cage but had no luck until... he heard something.
"HELP! HELP! PLEASE HELP ME!" The tiger yelled with all his might to get their attention. Once they stepped in front of the cage the tiger seen another brahman... "Help me out of here please! I am starving."
The brahman stepped a little closer saying "Now why would I get you out if you are hungry? You could eat me."
"Oh, I promise I won't you are the first thing to come by in days. I would be very grateful and owe you anything you want" pleaded the tiger.
He could see he was getting to the brahman and would be out soon. When he was he would never trust a brahman again... he would eat this one and get away before the other came back. The brahman stepped forward to let the tiger out. The tiger could not wait to be free but little did he know it would be just a breif freedom...
Author Note: For this story I took a different approach and wrote a prequel to the story of the tiger, the brahman and the jackal. In that story there is a tiger stuck in the cage that gets the brahman to let him out and tries to kill him. The brahman pleads with him to let him talk to the first 3 things he comes across to see if they agree with the tiger wanting to eat him. All the object believe that it is just the way of life until he comes accross the jackal who tricks the tiger back into the cage. When reading the story I wanted to know how the tiger ended up in the cage so that is the approach I took with the story.
Bibliography. "The Tiger, The Brahman, and the Jackal" from Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs. Web Source.
Hi Cheyenne, I really enjoyed this story! Writing a prequel was a great idea, especially since everyone else in the class has already read the story it's a prequel to. The brahman as the trickster worked well, because it contrasts with the brahman and jackal characters in the original story. Your story flowed well, and the dialogue with some caps lock sections effectively moved the story along. Good job!
ReplyDeleteHey Cheyenne,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your prequel story! Your story starts of well with the tiger just minding itself and relaxing and I like how you inform us how the tiger is feeling. Like at first he is wanting to rest, and then he feels charitable which gets him in trouble. Knowing the thoughts of the tiger helps understand his side of the story. The twist where the tiger gets trapped is greatly done. I think adding some more details to why the tiger cannot see could help add some more context and feelings in that spot. For example, maybe it was a gloomy day where the sun wasn't out and the cage was under an expansive tree. Overall, your prequel is great and I liked reading it. Great job, Cheyenne!