Tiger’s Tale

Tiger looked at the animals who had assembled to listen to the next episode of his tale.

There were two monkeys, one jackal, two deer, one elephant, one giraffe, one bear, a pair of wolfs, one buffalo, a few rabbits and some small animals.

“What was the incident about my tail that I narrated yesterday?” the tiger asked, unexpectedly. He just wanted to have some fun.

“You said that the hunter had caught hold your tail with his bare hands,” one monkey said.

“No. You had said that your tail got stuck in the iron trap,” the jackal said.

The tiger growled angrily.

“I always suspected that you do not come here willingly and do not listen to my tales attentively. Now, I know for sure that you are not listening, not at all,” said the tiger.

“No, no. We are all ears, all the time. Please don’t be angry with us. We hear very attentively,” said the elephant.

“You don’t even know the difference between hearing and listening.  What innocent fools you all are,” said the tiger.

“For me it is one and same thing. What I hear, I listen. What I listen, I hear,” said the buffalo and laughed loudly.

“Well, if that is so, then from tomorrow onwards, I will ask you questions about the tales I tell you. Anyone who gives a wrong answer will become my next meal,” said the tiger in a loud tone.

Everyone in the assembly was taken aback. They looked at each other. Even before the tiger could start his tale, almost every one vanished.

Only a few squirrels kept sitting. They were happily munching the nuts they had brought with them.

“Why did everyone run away? I was only trying to have some fun,” he asked the squirrels.

“Perhaps they don’t have much sense of humour,” said one squirrel.

“Perhaps!” and the tiger left for his hill.

And, thus ends the tiger’s tale.

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A post for A to Z challenge

Today’s letter T

You may like to read my earlier post here Scent of a Thief