The Brahmin, the Tiger, and the Clever Jackal
Old Deccan Days (Maharashtra / Deccan) · Ages 6-10 · 4 min read
A gentle brahmin was walking home through the countryside when he passed a strong iron cage, and inside it paced a great tiger. “Oh kind sir!” cried the tiger in the most pitiful voice. “I have been trapped in here for days with no food and no water. Please, let me out. I promise, on my honour, I will never harm you.”
The brahmin had a soft heart. He thought, surely no creature so miserable would do me harm. So he lifted the latch and opened the cage.
The tiger sprang out, stretched his huge body, and grinned a terrible grin. “How kind of you,” he purred. “And how hungry I am. I think I shall eat you now.”
“But that is not fair!” cried the brahmin. “I set you free, and this is my reward?” The tiger only shrugged. So the brahmin, trembling, said, “Let us at least ask three others whether it is just. If they all say you may eat me, then I will not argue.”
First they asked a great old banyan tree. “Fair?” said the tree bitterly. “I give people cool shade, and in return they tear off my branches. Do not speak to me of fairness.” Next they asked a tired old buffalo. “When I was young I gave milk and pulled the plough,” she said. “Now that I am old they have thrown me out to starve. People are not grateful. Eat him.” Things were looking very bad for the brahmin indeed.
Last of all, they met a jackal trotting down the road. The brahmin explained everything, all in a rush. But the jackal scratched his ear and blinked. “I am sorry,” he said slowly, “I am a bit slow today, and I simply cannot picture it. Now, who was in the cage? The brahmin?”
“No, no,” growled the tiger. “I was in the cage.”
“The cage? You? I do not understand. You are far too big for that little cage.”
“I am not! Watch, I will show you exactly how it was.” And the tiger, huffing with impatience, climbed right back inside the cage.
Quick as a flash, the jackal flicked the latch shut. Clack. “There,” he said calmly. “Leave it just as it was before. Come along, holy sir.” And the brahmin walked home a free man, while the tiger roared and roared inside his cage.
An original retelling from Mary Frere's Old Deccan Days (1868, public domain).
