The Ungrateful Tiger

A tiger was strolling the woods one day when the most unfortunate accident happened to him. He stumbled and plummeted down into a deep hole. He tried in vain to jump or climb or scramble up the walls.

The pit was too deep, and the walls were too steep. The tiger called for help, but no one answered. He screamed and shouted until he nearly lost his voice but to no end. The night passed, and morning soon came.

The tiger had shouted himself hoarse and he was now so hungry his belly started rumbling. There was nothing he could do. He lay down in desperation at the bottom of the hole, waiting for his end.

Suddenly, he heard approaching steps. He leapt to his paws and shouted: “Help! Help me!”

“Who's there?” asked a human face that peeped over the edge of the hole, only to disappear again in fear a second later. “Oh no! It's a tiger!” he cried.

“Don’t run away, human, please,” begged the tiger. “Please, help me. Get me out of here. I promise I won’t hurt you!”

“I’m sorry, tiger,” the human called back. “I’m sorry this has happened to you, but I just can’t trust you. If I helped you out, you’d surely eat me.”

“I swear to you, human, I won’t touch a hair on your head!” promised the tiger. “I will forever be in your debt! Really!”

In the end, the human took pity on the poor tiger. He dragged over a dead trunk and pushed it down into the pit. The tiger easily climbed up and out of the hole. But as soon as he was free and saw the defenceless man in front of him, his mouth started watering, reminding him just how hungry he was.

He didn’t…