© Cypherwrite Technical Services 2016
Kit Thornton
Short Stories
THE UNHAPPY TIGER
~ a fable ~
At
the
zoo,
which
in
this
fable
we
will
call
the
Family
Zoo,
there
were
several
tigers,
each
one
secure
in
his
cage.
In
their
cages
most
of
the
tigers
were
content,
more
or
less.
Some
cages
in
the
Family
Zoo
were
a
little
larger
than
others
and
some
cages
in
the
Family
Zoo
were
a
little
more
comfortable
than
others,
but
all
of
the
tigers
were
content,
more
or
less,
except
for
one
tiger
who
was
very
unhappy.
The
tigers
knew
that
from
time
to
time
their
lives
would
be
made
uncomfortable
by
circumstances,
but
they
encouraged
each
other
and
so
managed
to
get
through
the
un-
comfortable
times.
And
the
tigers
knew
that
from
time
to
time
their
lives
would
be
made
really
uncomfortable
by
Nasty
People
and
Uncaring
People
and
Mischievous
People.
Although
they
wanted
to
hide
themselves
away,
the
tigers
had
to
suffer
abuse
from
these
folk
because
they
could
not
escape
from
their
cages.
The
Nasty
People
and
the
Uncaring
People
and
the
Mischievous
People
would
call
the
tigers
names
and
say
bad
things,
and
sometimes
even
do
really
nasty
and
uncaring
and
mischievous
things
like
throwing
stones
or
poking
with
sticks.
None
of
the
tigers
enjoyed
the
attention
of
the
nasty
and
uncaring
and
mischievous
people,
but
they
tolerated
it
because
they
could
not
escape
from
their
cages,
and
they
encouraged
each
other
and
so
managed
to
get
through
even
the
really
uncomfortable
times.
They
all
tolerated
it,
except
for
one
tiger
–
the
Unhappy
Tiger.
Every
time
the
Nasty
People
and
the
Uncaring
People
and
the
Mischievous
People
called
him
names
or
said
bad
things
or
threw
stones
or
poked
him
with
sticks
the
Unhappy
Tiger
would
fly
into
a
rage
and
roar
and
hurl
himself
at
the
bars
of
his
cage.
But
never
could
he
reach
the
Nasty
People
and
the
Uncaring
People
and
the
Mischievous
People,
and
the
other
tigers
watched
sadly
as
the
Unhappy
Tiger
limped
away,
battered
and
bruised,
to
lick his wounds in the farthest corner of his cage.
Of
course,
as
time
went
on,
the
Nasty
People
and
the
Uncaring
People
and
the
Mischievous
People
visiting
the
Family
Zoo
learned
that
it
was
no
fun
to
torment
the
tigers
who
quietly
tolerated
the
names
and
the
bad
things
and
the
stone-throwing
and
the
stick-poking.
They
would
go
straightaway
to
the
cage
of
the
Unhappy
Tiger
and
they
would
call
him
names
and
say
bad
things
and
throw
stones
and
poke
him
with
sticks,
and
always
the
Unhappy
Tiger
would
reward
them
by
flying
into
a
rage
and
roaring
and
hurling
himself
at
the
bars
of
his
cage.
And
always
the
Unhappy
Tiger
would
limp
away,
battered
and
bruised,
to
lick
his
wounds
in
the
farthest
corner
of
his
cage.
And
always
the
other
tigers
in
their
cages
were
very
sad.
And
always
the
Nasty
People
and
the
Uncaring
People
and
the
Mischievous
People
went
home
excited
and
happy,
looking
forward to their next visit to the Family Zoo.
And
so
it
went
on,
and
on,
and
on.
The
Unhappy
Tiger
became
more
and
more
unhappy
and
the
other
tigers
became
more
and
more
sad
for
their
unhappy
friend.
Until
one
day
the
other
tigers
decided
that
they
needed
to
Take
Action.
So
they
held
a
pow-wow
(or
whatever
it
is
that
tigers
do
when
they
need
to
meet
to
discuss
a
problem).
Of
course
they
could
not
actually
meet
because
they
were
all
in
their
own
cages,
but
they
managed
to
communicate
in
the
mysterious
way
that
tigers
do.
And
they
came
up
with
a
Plan,
a
Secret
Plan,
which
they
kept
very
close
to
their
tiger
chests.
(So
you
and
I,
dear
reader,
will
never
know
exactly
what
the
other
tigers
decided
to
do,
although
we
might
suspect
that
the
Secret
Plan
could
involve
sharing
a
few
jars
of
Tiger
Beer
–
the
beer
with
Hidden
Depths,
all
the
way
from
Darkest
Malaya.)
However,
eventually
the
Unhappy
Tiger
listened
to
the
other
tigers
and
understood
the
wisdom
of
their
words.
He
promised
that
he
would
try
to
ignore
the
Nasty
People
and
the
Uncaring
People
and
the
Mischievous
People
whenever
they
called
him
names
or
said
bad
things
or
threw
stones
or
poked
him
with
sticks.
It
was
a
difficult
time
for
the
Unhappy
Tiger,
but
he
tried
his
hardest
to
do
as
he
had
promised.
And
sure
enough,
things
began
to
change.
The
Nasty
People
and
the
Uncaring
People
and
the
Mischievous
People
continued
to
visit
the
Family
Zoo,
but
something
had
indeed
changed;
the
tigers
were
no
fun.
Soon
the
Unhappy
Tiger
noticed
a
difference.
The
Nasty
People
and
the
Uncaring
People
and
the
Mischievous
People
still
tormented
him,
calling
him
names
and
saying
bad
things
and
throwing
stones
and
poking
him
with
sticks.
They
hurt
him;
but
instead
of
flying
into
a
rage
he
just
turned
his
back,
and
instead
of
roaring
he
just
growled
quietly,
and
instead
of
hurling
himself
at
the
bars
of
his
cage
he
just
took
himself
to
a
far
corner
of
his
cage,
which
was
closest
to
the
other
tigers,
and
the
not
so
Unhappy
Tiger
went
to
sleep
and
dreamed
a
dream
of
happy
days
playing
with
the
other
tigers
in
the
distant
jungle
and
on
the
high
mountains
and
on sandy beaches in far-off places.
And
so,
dear
reader,
what
do
you
suppose
happened
to
the
Nasty
People
and
the
Uncaring
People
and
the
Mischievous
People?
Well,
they
very
soon
became
bored
with
the
tigers
because
they
were
no
fun.
Off
they
went
to
another
part
of
the
Family
Zoo
where
there
were
different
animals
to
be
tormented,
and
there
the
Nasty
People
and
the
Uncaring
People
and
the
Mischievous
People
once
again
began
calling
names
and
saying
bad
things
and
throwing
stones
and
poking
with
sticks.
And
then
the
crocodiles
became
very
unhappy;
and
then
they
became
very
cross;
and
then…
but
that’s
another story!
© Kit Thornton 12 December 2012
