Page 87 - Unit 6 - Exercise 1

Page 87 - Unit 6 - Exercise 1

How the tiger got his stripes

A traditional story from Vietnam

Long ago, when animals could talk, the tiger didn’t have stripes. He had a beautiful coat of golden fur. He was very proud of it.

One day, the tiger came to the edge of the jungle and looked out. A man was ploughing a rice field. A water buffalo was pulling the heavy plough. It looked like very hard work for the buffalo, but not for the man. He was just walking along behind the plough. On the other side of the field there were some more animals - two goats, some chickens and a cow.

After a while, the man sat down under a banana tree for a rest. The tiger crept slowly towards the buffalo. She wasn’t afraid of the tiger. She was too big and strong for him. ‘What do you want?’ asked the buffalo. ‘I’ve got a question,’ said the tiger. ‘Why do you work for that man? You’re much bigger and stronger than he is. He controls all those other animals over there, too. How does he do it?’ They say,’ said the buffalo slowly, ‘that he’s got something called intelligence.’ ‘Intelligence?’ asked the tiger. ‘What’s that?’ Tve got no idea,’ said the buffalo. Why don’t you ask the man?’ So the tiger walked over to the man. When he saw the tiger, the man jumped up. But the tiger said: ‘Don’t worry. I won’t eat you if you answer a simple question for me.’ The man was very frightened and he wanted to run away. But the tiger was much faster than him, so he said nervously: ‘I- I’ll answer it if I can.’ The animals say that you’ve got something called intelligence,’ said the tiger. ‘I’d like some of that, too. What is it? What does it look like?’ The man thought quickly. ‘Intelligence?’ he said, ‘Oh, well, intelligence is very valuable, so I usually leave it at home. If you wait here, I’ll go and get some for you.’ ‘I’ll come with you,’ said the tiger. ‘No,’ said the man. ‘If the other villagers see you, they’ll throw things at you.’ T hat’s true,’ said the tiger. ‘But if you don’t come back, I’ll be here again tomorrow. And I’ll be very hungry!’ The man set off to the village, but then he turned round and said to the tiger. ‘But if I leave you here, you’ll eat my animals. I’ll feel much happier if I tie you up first.’ The tiger really wanted the man’s intelligence. “When I’ve got some of that intelligence, I’ll really be king of the jungle,’ he thought, and so he said: ‘All right. You can tie my tail to the banana tree.’ ‘But you’ve got very sharp teeth and claws,’ said the man. “You’ll easily cut the rope. However, if I tie your body to the tree, my animals will be safe.’ The man got a long rope. He put it round and round the tiger’s body and head and tied him tightly to the banana tree. ‘Now,’ said the man, ‘you’ll soon see my intelligence.’ Then he collected all his animals and took them away.

The tiger waited and waited, but the man didn’t come back.

He didn’t come back the next day, either. So the tiger tried to get free, but the rope was too tight. He pulled and he pushed; he twisted and turned. The rope rubbed against his fur. Finally, he pulled with all his strength and the rope broke.

The tiger walked slowly back to the jungle. On the way he stopped at the river for a drink, because he was very thirsty.

When he saw his reflection in the water, he couldn’t believe his eyes: ‘Aargh! What’s happened to my fur?’ he cried. His beautiful golden coat was covered in thick black stripes, where the ropes rubbed it.

When the other animals saw the stripes, they all laughed.

Since that day, the tiger has had black stripes, and he hides in the jungle so that the other animals can’t see him.