Reading Notes: Santal, Part A

The Killing of the Tiger

This story intrigued me because of its title. I love stories with animals in it, but this one did not seem to be a happy ending for the tiger just based of the title. However, when I began reading it I quickly found myself intrigued in the story and wanting to read more. The setting for this story was in India in a period where all animals and men shared the same language. There was a road that many villagers would travel down, but a tiger was attacking the people and killing anyone that passed. As a result, the road became abandoned and no one dared to travel down it. The townspeople pleaded to the king in order to send soldiers to kill the tiger, and he acknowledged that something must be done. He first asked the soldiers but not a single one dared to go face the tiger. He then gave the same offer to everyone in the town. A poor man was the only one that accepted the request, knowing the prize would be half the kingdom. The king signed the deed but figured he would surely be killed. He left to go kill the tiger with only a hatchet, three pictures of hand drawn tigers, and a looking glass. He told the king he would either return with the dead tiger, or pieces of his claws, ears, and tongue so that he could prove he killed it. He then found the tiger and made him look through the looking glass at the pictures to see "the other three tigers he had already captured". The tiger, afraid, pleaded for his life and said he would no longer kill anyone if the man let him live. The man accepted his plea but told him he must give him some pieces of claw, ear, and tongue. The tiger did so and the man returned to the kingdom where he collected him prize. Unfortunately, the tiger got an infection in his tongue and ended up dying the same day.

[Tiger. Image Information]

Bibliography

Bompas, Cecil. The Killing of the Tiger. Folklore of the Santal Parganas. Link.

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