The Brave Lad
In a far-off village, there lived a donkey that belonged to the local washerman. Often, it would wander into the nearby forest to graze. There, strangely enough, it became friendly with a tiger. One day, the donkey and the tiger had a friendly argument about who was the stronger of the two. The argument waxed long and fierce. Finally, the tiger said, “Let’s fight. He who wins shall be declared the stronger.” The donkey readily agreed to this challenge.
The next day, the tiger appeared with his claws well sharpened. The donkey came with its body swathed in clothes, which made it soft all over. The fight commenced, and surprisingly, the tiger lost! You know why? His claws got caught in the clothes and stuck fast, preventing him from striking the donkey at all.
A little boy had watched this strange combat from atop a tree. When the fight ended in a defeat for the tiger, the animal looked up and saw the boy. The tiger snarled and said, “Hey, little boy, don’t let out what happened here today. If you do, I’ll gobble you up.” The little fellow promised not to tell anybody and ran home. He was so frightened that he hid in a large jar in the house.
The tiger, distrustful of the boy’s promise, followed him home and hid in a corner. At night, the boy’s mother discovered her son hiding in the jar. She asked him what he was doing there. So, the boy related all that had happened. His mother consoled him and said, “Don’t be afraid. We’ll all sleep around your bed, so the tiger won’t be able to touch you.” Soon, everyone in the house knew about the tiger’s defeat at the hands of the ass. The tiger became furious at the boy’s treachery.
At night, everyone in the house slept around the boy. Soon, they were all fast asleep. The tiger left his corner, padded past the sleeping ones, and crept under the boy’s cot. Then he lifted the bed ever so gently and made off with it into the jungle. The rocking of the cot woke up the boy, and he found, to his dismay, that he was on the tiger’s back. But he was a brave lad and quickly tied the hanging strands of rope around the tiger’s neck. The tiger, intent on carrying the lad, did not notice this. As soon as the animal passed under a huge tree, the boy grasped a hanging branch and swarmed up the tree.
The tiger padded on and reached a deserted well. When he tried to tip the cot into the well, he lost his balance and fell in himself and was drowned. The lad clambered down the tree and ran home happily.
