Storytelling for Week 4: The Tiger is Dead

BREAKING NEWS

Tiger Killed in the Village

It was just reported that the tiger that has been haunting the village with his savage killing spree has died. Referring back to our earlier post, the shikari cut off the end of the tigers ears, claws and tongue yesterday morning to present to the Raja. After an afternoon of confusion and worry, we received word early last night that the tongue of the tiger was festering after the wound. The infection seemed deadly. Now, today, officials are saying that the tiger is in fact dead.

The tiger growling as villagers attempt to travel the highroad.
Photo by: Claudio Gennerari

As a recap, this is the same tiger that was preying on men as they traveled along the highroad. After multiple deaths, people ceased to travel along this road, which affected trade and communications. Finally, after a long silence, the Raja and his council responded to the attacks and gathered their soldiers. Even though the Raja promised half of his kingdom to the one who could kill the tiger, none of his soldiers were brave enough to take on the challenge. It was after word traveled around the village that the brave shikari offered to hunt the dangerous animal. After much deliberation, the Raja agreed. 

After the shikari received permission, he promptly left his home and traveled into the jungle to find the tiger. His tactic was a to hide in a tree until the tiger appeared. This way, he was protected from other attacks and had a wide view of the path the tiger generally took.

The next morning, upon facing the tiger, the shikari was brave enough to confront him. Photos have been submitted that show the man standing with the tiger, showing him photos of other tigers that the shikari had supposedly killed. The photos show the tiger visibly changing his stance and shifting to a position of fear. The community was stunned as the man continued to stand with him and reason with him that he would save his life as long as he allowed him to cut off the tips of his ears, tongue, and claws. The tiger agreed and the tips were presented to the Raja. Upon learning of these happenings, the village was outraged. They did not believe that the tiger would cease to prey upon the people. However, the shikari knew the the truth and that the infection would eventually overcome the tiger, thus ending his life. 

The people from the village are rejoicing tonight as their safety has returned. Trade and communications are expected to continue tomorrow. 

Author's Note:

The original story is called The Killing of the Tiger from Folklore of the Santal Parganas by C.H. Bompas. In the story, a tiger was preying upon the people of a village as they traveled the highroad. The Raja promised half of his kingdom to whoever could kill it; however, none of his soldiers were brave enough. So, a poor shikari offered to hunt the tiger and after speaking with the Raja, he agreed to let him. So the man left in the morning and hid in a tree until the tiger appeared and asked him to come down. Once the shikari did, he showed the tiger pictures of other tigers that he supposedly killed. The tiger then was extremely fearful and begged for his life. The shikari offered to let him life as long as the tiger allowed him to cut off the tips of his claws, ears, and tongue. The tiger agreed and them man left with these things and showed the Raja. Eventually, the tiger ended up dying because his tongue festered. 

I decided to make a 'breaking news' story since this would be big news to the villagers. I did not change much in the story, but did try to add in some more dramatic diction and summarize what happened the way a news story would. 

Bibliography:

The Killing of the Tiger from Folklore of the Santal Parganas. Folklore of the Santal Parganas is the English version of the Santal folklore stories, which were translated by C.H. Bompas in 1909.