Short Story: Tiger & The Lion

[onizuka-gto]

Here is something i wrote back in 2011, i'm not entirely sure what inspired me or the moral backbone behind it, but one thing is for certain, i have found myself coming back again and again to read it.

So let me share it with you and i hope you will perhaps find the reason why i find this short light story so enjoyable?

~ Oni

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One day, the Tiger wanted to know who was the real King of the Animal Kingdom and searched for the Lion.
"I should be king of Beasts!" Said the Tiger, "I am Swift, Silent, and share nothing except for myself! I kill to eat and only eat what I kill, I can swim as far the eye can see and my Kingdom range from India to the Far East, all shall fear me!" he boosted.
The Lion yawned from his rock and looked at the Tiger, "Why work like a beast of burden when i can sleep on my rock all day and when i wake up have my food ready for me? Yet I can survive without water for 5 days and nights, run until my prey is exhausted and a single swipe of my claws can fell even the mightiest of beasts that you could never kill, even now I can kill you with a single blow and without even moving from here..." replied Lion, with a slow and lazy smile.
"Lies!" Cried the Tiger, Who suddenly leapt at the Lion in anger.
The Lion watched the enraged Tiger who was about to attack him....when suddenly a pride of Lionesses pounced upon the Tiger, pinning him to the ground.
"Cheater!" Cried the Tiger in pain and rage.
"Face me like a Man and a King!" he roared. The Lion slowly strolled to the Tigers side and leans towards his face...
"To be a Man, one must be a father to his Children and a Husband to his Wives. To be a King, one must put the interest of his Pride before himself, be a Leader who will be obeyed and adored.
Therefore I do not need to hunt, need to Kill, need to swim or care for anything, except.........
to be victorious."
Thus the Tiger died from the Lions single blow.

[bakabaka]

The way you depicted the moral of the story was good ^^. It's was too short to really get into it but still it was enjoyable. Good work

[ShioAkino]

Really good work. I also like the overall meaning of the story.
I guess the lion was a genius for making the hard life easy, and the tiger normal for making it even harder.

Thanks for sharing.

[Aorii]

Ah, the age-long question of Kingship.

Legend of the Galactic Heroes spent its entire 110 episodes chasing an answer...

To be honest, I don't think the answer is that simple. As Yang Wengli in LOGH says, people don't follow ideology/beliefs so much as they follow figures, a King is measured by his pride and reputation, sure. But it's also the ability to go do things that builds that his 'kinghood' in the first place.

Otherwise history would not sing the tales of say... Richard the Lionheart so much (because by all accounts, the man made a horrible ruler, lost a fair amount and was one of few kings to be imprisoned for years, but also one hell of a warrior and war leader). If he had just sat back and gave orders instead of joining ranks in the front, commanding through sheer charisma and force of will, he would not be remembered so with such epic songs of glory.

Neither would Gustavus Adolphus...

Neither would Julius Caesar...

Neither would Alexander the Great... (Fate/Zero did a truly wondrous job summing up his Kinghood).

Nor countless others.

Onizuka -- I wonder if you read my novel. Not really sure (you were active in the thread, but not in discussive means xD). But I do know this is a major topic I intend to explore. Like anything of philosophical nature, would love to get someone to share thoughts with.

Thanks for your story ^^/

[Calculatrix]

Personally, I'm no fan of animal stories. So, obviously, I didn't really think of this story as interesting. If this story was longer, I wouldn't read it. Just my opinion.

I did think that it was well written. For me(yes, another personal opinion), I thought of this story as more of a proverb. Or, some sort of short story that gives the reader a lesson of some sort.