How the tiger got its stripes Last updated: 1998-01-16 Long long ago, before the dragons ordered the turning of the wheels, the world was fresh and green and all creatures lived in peace. Aptanace the sage kept a watchful eye on events to make sure that all behaved properly according to their allotted function. Most magnificent of the beasts was the Tiger. His fur was golden as the sky used to be, his eyes were green as jade, most precious of stones, his fangs were white as the Mountain of the Gods and his claws were black as the waters of the Underworld River. All the other beasts thought that the Tiger was the greatest among them, and all envied him his strength and his grace. However, praise can be a heavy burden, and so it was for the Tiger. For every beast who expressed its admiration his conceit grew. As the days went by the Tiger started to think that he really was greater than all the other beasts. When all the beasts told how much they envied the Tiger he formed a plan. He said to himself "If the other beasts want so much to be like me I must give them what they want. If I eat a beast, it will become a part of me and then it will be happy". In those days the beasts did not yet eat each other, so the idea was all new. The next beast the Tiger met was the Four-horned Deer. "Mighty Tiger" the deer said, "I bow my head in humility before your magnificent presence". The Tiger said "Finest deer, would you like to be like me?". "Oh yes, mighty Tiger", said the deer, "but that is not for such as me". The Tiger said "then would you like to become one with me?". "Oh yes, mighty Tiger" said the deer, "that is my wish". The Tiger said "Then gather your offspring and come once more before me". The Four-horned Deer hastened to gather his offspring and then returned to the Tiger's side. The Tiger said "Now you only have to bow your heads to me and you will become one with me". All the deer obeyed and bowed their heads. The Tiger broke their necks with his mighty claws and devoured the deer, flesh, skin and bone. And since that day, no Four-horned Deer has ever been seen. The Tiger found that he liked the taste of flesh, so when he met the Blue Rabbit next day he thought "The rabbit is small but it loks tasty. I will do it the same service I did to the Four-horned Deer". So the Tiger offered the Blue Rabbit to become one with the Tiger. The rabbit was extatic at the prospect of being like the mighty Tiger and quickly gathered his offspring. The Tiger devoured them all, and since that day no one has seen a Blue Rabbit. Aptanace the sage began to wonder where animals disappeared. No one had seen the missing beasts for days. So Aptanace in his wisdom asked the Eagle who has the keenest eyes to look for all who were missing. The next day the Eagle returned and told Aptanace that he had seen the Tiger eat the Spotted Pig and its offspring. The Eagle was both revolted and intrigued at the thought of eating another beasts flesh. Aptanace furrowed his brow trying to understand what was going on. Finally he summoned the Tiger to his side. The next day the Tiger came by casually, with its proud head held high. "Little Sage, I heard that you wished to see me, and today I happen to be going by these parts. What is it you want." Aptanace looked at the Tiger and wondered at its insolence and pride. "Tiger, I hear that you have devoured many beasts, and their offspring too. Why do you do that?". "All the beasts admire me, and acknowledge me as their better. I do them a great service by making them part of me. Besides I like the taste of their flesh". Aptanace was astonished but swiftly said "That will not do. If you eat the beasts and their offspring they will disappear from the world. What gives you the right to take them all away?". "Right is not given" said the Tiger "it is taken by those who are superior". And then the Tiger left to devour yet another beast. Aptanace knew that he was not strong enough to catch the Tiger and punish it himself. Instead he prayed to the great gods of the Sky. Yang Ti, the mighty sun, knew that something was wrong in the world, so he sent two fiery angels to help Aptanace. The sage explained to the angels that the Tiger was eating all the beasts and that if he continued doing that, there would soon be no animals left in the world. So the angels hefted their flaming spears and started to hunt the Tiger so it could be caught and chastised. But the Tiger was faster and stronger, so the angels didn't manage to catch it and hold it. They returned to Aptanace and told the sage that the Tiger was too mighty to catch. Aptanace thought long and well and then deviced a new plan. With the help of the angels he built a pit trap. He then asked the Goat to sit behind the pit as a bait for the Tiger. The Goat was very afraid, because he had understood that the Tiger had done something bad, but he couldn't refuse to do the bidding of the great Sage. When the Tiger found the Goat he asked "Oh Goat, would you like to be a part of me? In that case gather your offspring and come to me". The Goat shivered with fear but stuttered "Mighty Tiger like all the animals I would like to be a part of you, but my offspring is far away. For myself I am afraid to go near your magnificence. Is it too impudent to ask you to come to me?" The Tiger snorted at the Goat's cowardice but started forward to eat him, and fell into the pit trap. The Tiger roared in anger and cursed the Goat but he couldn't get out of the pit. The Goat ran to get Aptanace and the angels. The sage looked down at the Tiger and the Tiger looked up. "False sage" the Tiger said "why have you done this to me?". "Because you have eaten your brethren and their offspring and refused to see the error of your ways. I had to trap you before you ate all the animals in the world." "Now, if you promise to stop eating other beasts I will release you". "Never will I do that. You say that I have no right to eat the beasts and their offspring, but you have no right to keep me prisoner". Aptanace knew that the Tiger was right. There were no laws yet, so he had no right over the Tiger, but he had to stop it from devouring all other beasts. So he ordered the angels to lash the Tiger with their fiery whips. So they did and the Tiger howled in pain. When they were done the Tiger was striped in black where its fur had been scorched by the whips. "Now, do you promise?" said Aptanace. The Tiger growled, but the pain was very great so he said "I promise that I will not eat the offspring of the beasts all at once. But I like the taste of meat and you have offended me by whipping me, so I will never stop from eating the flesh of others, not even men." Aptanace knew that he wouldn't get more from the Tiger and he had no right to kill it if he didn't want to become like the Tiger, so he let the Tiger out of the pit. Since that day, the Tiger eats the flesh of other beasts, and sometimes of men, but never all at once. Thus the other beasts can reproduce and live on. The pit trap with a live goat bait is still the best way to catch a tiger so it is still used by men. And the scorch marks in the Tiger's fur never went away, so the most magnificent of beasts is still golden with black stripes. Back! Send email to nilsw@ibm.net