Reading Notes: Week 2 Reading Anthology

My favorite story from the reading anthology was the story about the Trickers: Tiger, Brahman, and Jackal. I loved how condensed the story was, yet it was able to convey such a fine level of detail regarding the characters and plot.

This story was one of the longer ones found in this week's reading anthology. The story consists of three main characters: a tiger, a Brahman, and a jackal. The story begins with a tiger caught in a trap. Desperate for freedom, he claws and struggles at the cage bars but to no avail. Then, a Brahman comes by, to which the tiger begs for release. Realizing the inherent dangers of releasing a tiger, the Brahman hesitates to open the cage. The tiger pleads that he will be of no harm, and so the Brahman opens the cage. Open release, the tiger seizes the poor Brahman and tricks the Brahman for his next meal.

The Brahman pleads for his life, only to be left with the promise that he will abide by the decision of the first three things he encounters along his path. He asks a pipal-tree, buffalo, and the road for their empathy but is responded with coldness and no remorse. He then stumbles upon a jackal who is supposedly hard of hearing. He explains the story to the jackal but with no luck.

The Brahman and the jackal both return to the tiger waiting by the cage. Explaining the story to the jackal once more, the jackal still cannot understand. Finally, the tiger loses his patience and jumps back into the cage as the jackal was confused as to whom was in the cage in the beginning. Once the tiger jumps into the cage, the jackal slams the cage shut, sparing the poor Brahman of his untimely doom.

In the end, the jackal tricks the tiger that tricked the Brahman. This story was very entertaining to read as it hosted a multitude of different emotions from various characters and their interactions. I loved how suspenseful the plot was too, since the Brahman now had to plead and beg for his life after saving the tiger's life. The tiger seemed to have the upper hand, only to be tricked back into his cage by a clever jackal.

Brahman Looking at Tiger in a Cage - Courtesy of ArtStation (Raul Chavez)

Bibliography: The Tiger, The Brahman, and The Jackal from Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by John D. Batten (1912)

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