The Brave Potter and the Fierce Tiger
Once upon a time, a tiger was out walking when it began to rain heavily. “My goodness!” thought the tiger, “If I don’t find some shelter, I shall be soaked.” The tiger ran and ran until he came to a little hut. He stood near the side of the hut to take shelter.
After a few minutes, he heard the voice of an old woman saying, “Dear, dear. The rain is coming through this roof.”
After a while, the old woman moved some of the furniture away from the spot where the rain was pouring in. The tiger heard the bumping and scraping and could not think what it was. Then he heard the old woman say, “Oh, this awful dripping. What a nuisance.”
“I wonder who this Awful Dripping can be?” thought the tiger. “If he is making all that bumping and scraping noise, he sounds very fierce.” He lay by the side of the hut until it grew dark and the rain began to stop.
The Potter’s Mistake
Soon afterwards, a potter came along. The potter had lost his donkey, and when he saw the tiger, he thought it was his donkey since it was dark and he could not see properly. He went up to the tiger and thumped it hard. “You are very naughty,” he said. “Where have you been?”
The tiger was not used to being treated like this. He was used to people being afraid of him, and he thought to himself, “This must be that person who is called Awful Dripping. I was right; he must be very fierce. I had better do what he tells me.”
The potter got onto the tiger’s back and told him to carry him home. Because the tiger was a bit frightened of the potter, he did as he was told. When they reached his home, the potter tied the tiger to a post outside the house and then went in and went to bed.
Unexpected Fame
The next morning, the potter’s wife looked out of the window and saw the tiger tied to a post outside the house. “Do you know what you rode home on last night?” she asked her husband.
“Yes,” he replied. “That naughty donkey of mine ran away, but I found it and beat it soundly.” “Well, you had better look out of the window,” she told him. The potter looked out of the window and nearly fainted with fright when he saw the tiger. Just then, some of the villagers came by and saw the tiger tied up to the post. “Ali must be very brave,” they all said. “Look, he must have been riding that fierce tiger. How marvelous he is.”
Some men went and told the Rajah, the ruler of the kingdom. He came to Ali’s house to see for himself and saw the tiger tied to the post. “Ali must be a very brave man,” he said. “I will make him a general in command of all my soldiers. He will set them such a good example.”
Ali’s Challenge
Ali was made a general, and he enjoyed it very much. He had very little to do, except ensure that the soldiers had plenty of exercise. However, one day the Rajah sent for Ali. “General Ali,” said the Rajah. “The ruler of the neighboring kingdom has declared war on us. He is bringing his army to attack us. You must take the soldiers and stop him at once.”
Ali was very frightened. He had never been in battle before and had never even ridden a horse. The Rajah had given him a big horse, which was good at galloping, so that he could lead his soldiers into battle.
Ali looked at the horse. It did not look gentle at all. “I’m quite sure I will fall off,” he said to his wife, who was with him.
“Don’t worry,” said his wife. “I’ll tie you on.” She took a strong rope and tied Ali on so tightly that he could hardly move. The horse, frightened by all this, bolted away, racing off with Ali on its back, jumping hedges and ditches, straight towards the enemy soldiers.
A Fortuitous Victory
Ali was very scared. He wished more than anything that the horse would go the other way. As they galloped past a tree, he grabbed at it, hoping to stop the horse, but the roots were loose, and instead of stopping the horse, Ali pulled up the tree.
The enemy soldiers saw Ali galloping towards them at great speed, waving the tree, and they were afraid. “If all the Rajah’s soldiers are as fierce and strong as this one, we had better run away,” they said, and they did.
When the rest of the soldiers caught up with Ali, the enemy had fled. The Rajah was very pleased. He said to Ali, “Come to the palace tomorrow. I shall give you a special medal.”
The Heroic Walk
The next day, the streets were lined with people cheering for Ali for saving the kingdom. “I never want to ride another horse,” said Ali to his wife, so he walked to the palace.
“Hooray!” cried the people when they saw Ali. “He is truly a great man, for he is not proud. Other generals ride to the palace to feel important, but Ali walks. What a great man he is.”
The Rajah gave Ali his medal and a rich reward, and Ali went home. News of the great warrior who led the Rajah’s army and went into battle carrying a whole tree spread to other kingdoms. After that, nobody dared to attack the Rajah’s kingdom.
All Ali had to do after that was give the soldiers plenty of exercise, and since he never had to go into battle again, he never had to ride another horse.