A tiger was searching for sustenance when he came upon a box-like structure. The tiger's curiosity got the best of him, and he investigated further. From behind, the tiger heard a clank, and he was trapped. The tiger did his best to free himself, but all this effort was to no avail. Three days passed before a Brahman came near the cage.
The tiger, now desperate to be free of this cage, called out to the Brahman, "Please, Brahman, set me free! I have been here for three days without food or even a drop of water!"
On edge, the Brahman replied, "If I were to set you free, what guarantee do I have that my life will not be endangered at the moment of your freedom?"
"Please, I beg you! I just need to be let go from this horrible place!"
The Brahman and tiger exchanged this way for awhile until the tiger began to cry.
The Brahman had never before seen a tiger cry, and he felt pity arise in his heart for the tiger. Even though the Brahman knew this could be a life threatening choice, he decided to release the tiger from the cage.
Once free from his holding cell, the tiger turned on the Brahman and said, "Oh my, the hunger in my body is so strong. Brahman, your scent is too enticing to turn down."
"I just let you free! Why would you turn on me so quickly? Let me leave with my life!" exclaimed the Brahman.
"Fine, fine. I will let you ask three things their opinion of this matter. Choose carefully."
The Brahman thought for a moment. The pressure of needing to save his life prevailed, and he hastily chose a nearby tree his opinion.
The tree dryly answered, "I have provided nothing but cool from the sun and places for wildlife to build their homes. Yet, those like you cut my kin down merely to feed your cows. As my life is meaningless to you, yours is meaningless to me. The tiger may do as he wishes."
Taken aback, the Brahman chose the road next as he thought there was nothing he had done directly to offend the road.
"You stand on me now with me below you, and you ask me to give you a pardon? All of you walk across me relentlessly everyday with nothing even close to a thanks. The less of you there are, the less I have to be walked on each day. Let the tiger eat," smirked the road.
Dejected, the Brahman made his way back to the tiger. On the way, he heard babbling coming from off the path. He saw there was a jackal muttering to himself among the trees. The Brahman was disoriented by the jackal talking nonsense, so he tried to discreetly slip past the jackal without being noticed. Unfortunately, the jackal perked up as the Brahman neared him.
"Why do you look so down on a day so sunny and bright?" inquired the jackal.
Unwillingly, the Brahman stopped and explained his situation with the tiger. The jackal seemed spaced out and kept looking around while the Brahman told his story. Once the Brahman finished his telling, the jackal asked him to tell him again as the first time made no sense. This time, the Brahman tried to take the story slowly and simply in a way that even this dull jackal could understand. This seemed to provide no help as the jackal still decided that the story was too confusing.
"I have an idea! Take me back to where this story occurred! I understand tales like these much better when I can see what happened, and right now all you are doing is throwing words at me!" barked the jackal.
The Brahman reluctantly took the jackal back to where the tiger was waiting.
"Ah, you have returned," smiled the tiger, "I have been waiting for dinner to be served!"
"This jackal is my last chance at getting an opinion. He is slightly slow at absorbing information," explained the Brahman.
The Brahman then proceeded to go through the story in excruciating detail to the jackal. The Brahman relished this time as he had decided he was doomed to be eaten by the tiger. Each word was a precious gift. Finally, he finished telling his story, and he asked the jackal if this time he understood.
"Hmm, not exactly, so you were in the cage? Or was the tiger?"
"I was in the cage," snarled the tiger.
"In a cage? I do not understand how or why you would end up there. How does one even get into a cage?" laughed the jackal.
"You simply walk inside, and then you are in the cage. This is not a hard concept," glared the tiger.
"Yes, but how did you get in the cage? All these words are just floating around, and I still do not get how you ended up there."
Losing his temper, the tiger decided to prove his point by going into the cage himself. "See? Like this, now I am magically in the cage, you dull jackal."
As the tiger was turning around, he heard that dreaded clank as the jackal locked the tiger, yet again, in the cage.
"Oh, I see now! You are in the cage! And now, it will stay this way," said the jackal triumphantly.
Author's Note
I wrote this story as a retelling of the tale of The Tiger, The Brahman, and the Jackal. I chose this story as I did not expect the ending. I enjoyed the twist that occurred which set this story apart from the others. This version set me up in a way that I thought I knew what would happen at the end, but I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong.
Bibliography
Image Information: Jackal from Wikimedia Commons
Jaclyn,
ReplyDeleteI actually wrote about the same story, although my retelling was quite a bit different. I noticed the story was very similar to the original, and honestly I couldn't tell where it was different. I may need to read the original again. The Tiger, The Brahman, and The Jackal is quite an interesting story.
Good luck this semester,
Brady
This was really interesting! I like how you shifted the perspective from just being the Brahman's perspective to having a little of the Tiger's perspective as well. I'll admit that I agree with Brady, it is really similar to the original as far as plot goes - I really enjoyed your word choice and the more modern style of dialogue though!
ReplyDeleteHello Jaclyn, My name is Tony and I am the tiger you wrote about. I am still sitting here in the cage and am very hungry. I gave the man a chance to redeem himself and you saw the tree and road say the bad things about him. I wish that I wouldn't have been tricked by the Jackal. I was looking for food and saw some in the cage. Why didn't you mention that as you make me look so foolish? I really enjoyed how you changed the end of the story, as I have heard it many times. It was very refreshing to be surprised despite it being at my own expense. I would say that otherwise this is a great story! I think that you could also tell about what the man did after putting me in the cage and whether I was trapped forever or if I eventually escaped. That could even be another story within itself. Looking forward to seeing what other stories you choose to retell.
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