Reading Notes: Week 2 Anthology

Story - Indian Fairy Tales: The Tiger, The Brahman, and the Jackal

Source: Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by John D. Batten (1912).

Main Characters:

Tiger, Brahman, and Jackal

Plot Summary:

A poor Brahman encountered a tiger caught in a trap. The tiger pleads to Brahman to free him, he promises much even to serve him as a slave. Once released, the tiger turns on his promise and promptly tells the Brahman he will be devoured. After pleading, he was able to convince the tiger to abide by the decision of the first three things he chose to question about the whole situation. He asks a tree, which pretty much tells him life is hard and has no sympathy for him. He asks a buffalo which tells him that people are ungrateful and just makes the Brahman sad. He asks a road which pretty much told him "well, what the heck did you expect? It's a tiger." On the way back he encountered a jackal, he told him the story, but the jackal was confused. They went back to the tiger, but the jackal was at this point obnoxiously confused about the situation. He was so confused and anger the tiger so much that the tiger decided to show him exactly where and how he was trapped. At which point the Jackal shut the cage, and the tiger was trapped once more.

My thoughts:

I really liked the story. I found several teachings a morals to the story: 
  • If you break a promise, things will probably not turn out okay for you at the end. 
  • Never trust a tiger and listen to your first instinct, it might just be right. 
  • If someone betrays you, ask for help and advice from others. (Even if they are just roasting you)
  • There is always a more clever trickster.
  • Sometimes people are just playing dumb.
  • Lastly, if you make a mistake, do everything in you power to mend it. Maybe life will give you a second chance, and now you will know that you should not let the tiger out of the cage.
Image Information: Illustration by John Batten.

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