THE BRAHMIN AND THE UNGRATEFUL TIGER

One day as a Brahmin was walking along a road he passed a large cage. Inside the cage was a big tiger which had been caught by the villagers the night before.
As soon as he saw the Brahmin the tiger called to him, “Brother Brahmin, brother Brahmin, please have pity on me and let me out. I am so thirsty. I have been locked up for many hours.”
The Brahmin stopped in front of the cage and looked at the tiger. Then he said, “I don’t think I will, because if I let you out you will certainly eat me.”
“Oh, brother Brahmin, how can you say such a thing? How can you think that I would be so ungrateful?” protested the tiger.
The Brahmin hesitated. He had a good heart and he liked to help man and beast alike. But he was afraid of the tiger. “Please, please let me out for just a minute,” the tiger begged again. “As soon as I have drunk some water from the river I’ll return to the cage.”
“Well,” said the Brahmin finally, “if you promise not to harm me I’ll open the cage door.”
“I swear not to harm you, brother Brahmin,” promised the tiger. The priest, believing the tiger’s words, unlocked the door of the cage and pushed it open. As soon as the door was open, the tiger sprang out and looked fiercely at the rescuer.
“I’m hungry as well as thirsty. I think I’ll eat you before have a drink,” he growled.
“But friend Tiger, said the Brahmin, “you swore not to harm me. How can you eat the person who set you free?”
“Does Man keep his word?” sneered the tiger. “I don’t think he does, so why should I keep mine? Is Man grateful? He is not, so why should I be?”
“Don’t act hastily, friend Tiger, “ pleaded the Brahmin. “There are many men who keep their word and area grateful. Let us ask the opinion of five witnesses. If all five agree that it is fair and just to eat me after I set you free, I’ll die willingly.”
“Very well,” growled the tiger. “Let us ask five witnesses. Let us ask them if Man keeps his word and is grateful to those who have helped him. Look, there is an ox lying by the roadside. Let him be our first witness.”
So the tiger and the Brahmin walked towards the ox, which was lying with his eyes shut, under a banyan tree.
“Friend Ox,” said the Brahmin, “please tell us whether this is just and fair. When I met friend Tiger he was locked in a cage and suffering from thirst. He begged me to let him out and swore not to harm me if I did. However, as soon as I opened the cage, he broke his promised and threatened to eat me. Tell us, friend Ox, don’t you think friend Tiger should keep his word and not be so ungrateful?”
“Ungrateful? Who is more ungrateful than Man?” said the Ox with a scornful look in his big eyes.
“Look at me. When I was young and strong. I served my master well. I pulled his plough and his cart. He praised me and promised me many rewards. Now that I am old and unable to work he has forgotten all that I did for him. He brought me to this place to die in loneliness. Eat him, brother Tiger, for Man himself is an ungrateful creature.” The ox slowly closed his eyes and went back to sleep again.
When the tiger heard these words he wanted to kill the Brahmin at once, but the priest said, “Friend Tiger, don’t be in such a hurry. Friend Ox is only our first witness. We have to ask four more.”
“Ask the nearby banyan tree and be quick,” grumbled the tiger who wanted to have his meal.
The Brahmin turned to the huge banyan tree.
“Banyan tree, Banyan tree,” said the Brahmin, “did you hear my story? Don’t you think my friend Tiger should keep his word and let me live?”
The gnarled old tree rustled his leaves and then answered, “My thick leaves give shade to men and keep them from the heat of the sun. but they don’t show any thanks towards me. After they have rested, they often break my branches and scatter my leaves. I don’t like men. They are ungrateful lot indeed.”
These words made the tiger laugh.
“It’s no use, brother Brahmin. Nobody likes your kind. Come, let me eat you now.”
“No, no,” protested the Brahmin. “We have to find three more witnesses.”
They walked along the road and soon met an old donkey.
“Friend Donkey,” said the Brahmin, “please be so kind as to listen to my story and tell us who is right.”
For the third time the Brahmin told the story of how he had rescued the tiger and how the ungrateful beast wanted to eat him.
“Is it just and fair to kill me, friend donkey, after what I did for him?” asked the Brahmin.
The donkey brayed and twitched his ears.
“It is just and fair because Man himself knows no fairness,” he answered. When I was young and strong I helped my master to carry heavy loads. In those days my master gave me food and took good care of me. But I grew old and lost my strength and my master lost all interest in me. Now he beats me every day because I do no walk fast enough and cannot carry such heavy loads. Often he forgets to feed me and I’m slowly starving to death. Is that fair and just?” asked the donkey. He shook his head and glanced angrily at the priest.
The Brahmin bowed his head and said sadly, “Friend Donkey, I’m sorry you have had the ill fortune to be owned by a cruel man. But certainly not all men are ungrateful. Friend Tiger, don’t eat me yet. Let me look for two more witnesses.”
The Tiger growled impatiently.
“Hurry then, I’m getting more and more hungry.”
They walked on again until they came to the river. On the muddy bank they saw a crocodile lying in the sun. the Brahmin went to him and repeated the story of his meeting with the tiger.
“And now, friend Crocodile, friend Tiger wants to eat me. Do you think that is fair?”
At first the crocodile did not bother to answer. But the Brahmin insisted so he said angrily to the tiger,
“Eat him, brother Tiger, eat him. Many of my brother crocodiles have been killed by men who were greedy for their beautiful skins. As long as there are men we animals will have no peace.”
The tiger roared with delight and the Brahmin bowed his head in despair.
“Come on, why don’t you give up? Nobody likes your kind. Let me eat you,” said the tiger licking his jaws.
“Let me ask just one more witness. Just one more,” said the Brahmin.
The last witness happened to be a jackal.
Again the Brahmin told his story and timidly asked, “Friend Jackal, do you think it is fair that friend Tiger should eat me?”
The Jackal scratched his head and said, “I’m sorry, I don’t understand your story very well. Now you, brother Brahmin, were in a cage and brother Tiger let you free.”
“No, no,” snapped the tiger. “I was in the cage.”
“Oh,” said the jackal, rubbing his nose with his paw, “now I understand. You were in the cage with brother Brahmin and …”
“No, friend Jackal, it’s like this,” said the Brahmin. “Please listen again.”
“Oh, brother Tiger and brother Brahmin,” the Jackal interrupted, “I’m terribly stupid. I just don’t understand. It would be better if you showed me the cage.”
So the three of them went back to the empty cage.
“Now, brother Brahmin, “ said the Jackal, “where were you when you met brother Tiger?”
“I was in front of the cage, here,” answered the Brahmin.
“And were you brother Tiger?” asked the Jackal.
“I was in the cage,” said the tiger, who thought the jackal very stupid indeed.
“In the cage?” asked the jackal in a puzzled manner. “What were you doing in the cage? Were you standing up or lying down? Please show me what you were doing, brother Tiger.”
The tiger jumped into the cage and showed the Jackal what he was doing when he saw the Brahmin.
“Very good,” said the jackal, “but what about the door? Was it opened?”
“No,” answered the Brahmin, “it was closed and locked.”
“Well,” said the jackal, “close and lock the door.”
Immediately, the Brahmin closed the iron door and locked it.
“That’s it,” said the jackal. “Now we are back to where we started, brother Brahmin. I advice you to think twice before you let a tiger out of a cage, no matter what he may promise you. Farewell my friend. I must be on my way.”
With this parting words the clever jackal ran away before the overjoyed Brahmin could even thank him.
And so the ungrateful tiger once more lost his freedom and this time forever.

(Favourite stories from India, Margurite Siek)