Anyone with siblings knows how difficult it can be to get along with them. Humans and animals are no different in this way. I know for a fact that it is impossible for me, the tiger and ruler of the jungle, to get along with my sister the cat. To this day, we are not speaking with each other and I doubt that the rift between us will ever mend, sadly. And for this, I am afraid that I am the one to blame. I am sorry to say that my actions in this story only reinforce the negative view most people have of my kind.
It all started many years ago, at a party. I, as king of the jungle, had invited all of my friends and subjects to come see me in my cave. My sister, Ka Miaw, a small tabby cat, was helping me entertain my guests. Well, after a few hours of the festivities, I could see that my guests were starting to get bored. And that simply could not be tolerated! So I demanded (rather rudely, I now know) that my sister the cat fetch the hookah for my friends and subjects gathered around me, not even thinking of the dishonor that this might bring upon her for, as you see, acting as a servant in such a way and bringing in the hookah for guests is seen as highly dishonorable in my culture. But, alas, in my pride and folly, I insulted my sister in this way and made my first mistake.
In order to avoid such an embarrassment as having to bring in the hookah for my guests and me, Ka Miaw informed me that there was no firebrand with which to light the hookah and, therefore, she would not be able to get it ready for us. To this, I could not control my fury and angrily roared that she had better go fetch something with which to light to the hookah from the local humans or else. In shame and despair, my poor sister went out in search of something with which to light the thing. This was my second mistake, yelling at her and ordering her to fetch a firebrand from the people. In the human village, apparently Ka Miaw was treated quite well, so much so that she developed quite a love for humans. As such, she was too late in bringing me the firebrand I had demanded--my guests had left after a few hours and did not seem at all pleased at the lack of tobacco at my party.
Well, in my rage I made my biggest mistake ever. While in the jungle searching for my sister, I ran across her as she hurried to bring the firebrand back to my cave, evidently aware at how much time had passed. As I intercepted her, I could tell by her face she was afraid, but as I said before, I could not control my wrath. I unleashed my rage upon her and threatened to beat her senseless, at which point she grew so terrified (and rightfully so) that she dashed away to live with humans forever. And this is why you will not see little cats with tigers in the jungle, all because I could not control my anger and lashed out at the one who never failed to support and love me. Every day I regret my mistake but, alas, nothing can be done now. The life of the king of the jungle is a lonely one now indeed.
Author's Note:
So, the original story is told from the third person point of view and is a Santal folktale. I changed it to, predictably, the point of view of the tiger so as to make him more sympathetic. In my story, he realizes his mistake and regrets it, but recognizes that nothing can be down now to mend his relationship with his sister. I should note that hookah is an instrument used for smoking tobacco, cannabis, or opium and is primarily used in South Asia and the Middle East, often in social settings where multiple people smoke from the same, multi-stemmed or single-stemmed hookah. I hope that this story will add complexity to my storybook, showing multiple sides to tigers and their roles in folklore, that while they are not always villains, they certainly are not always heroes. I think we have all made mistakes that we deeply regret, so in that way I hope that the character of the tiger appeals to readers, makes them feel more empathetic for him and his sorrow at losing his sister, at never being able to rebuild that relationship again. I also hope that my stories will interest readers in Indian, Santal, and generally Asian folktales--I have most definitely enjoyed reading these stories and rewriting them, making them my own in a small way. Tigers are truly beautiful creatures, as are their small relatives, house cats, and I hope readers enjoy learning how stories like this one were used to explain natural phenomenon.
Bibliography: How the Cat Came to Live with Man, in Folktales of the Khasis by Mrs. K. U. Rafy.
Source on Hookah: Wikipedia
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