The Unmannerly Tiger

Deep in the mountains of Korea, villagers spoke of a great striped tiger they called “Mountain Uncle.”He was proud of his strength and boasted that no hunter’s gun and no trap could ever catch him.But one autumn afternoon, as he padded down a narrow mountain path, he saw what looked like another tiger blocking his way.

Mountain Uncle sprang forward to fight — and fell straight into a deep pit that hunters had dug and covered with branches.He roared and clawed at the walls, but the pit was too deep, and he could not climb out.Just then, an old Buddhist priest walking home from the temple heard his cries.

Taking pity on the trapped animal, the priest found a long log and slid it down into the pit for the tiger to climb.The moment Mountain Uncle stood free on solid ground again, he said, “Thank you, priest — and now I am going to eat you, for I am very hungry.”“That is no fair reward for saving your life!” the priest cried. “Let us ask someone wiser to judge between us.”

They asked an old pine tree growing beside the path, and the tree said the tiger’s ingratitude was “bad manners, against the law of the mountain.”Mountain Uncle did not like this answer, so he asked a great gray rock instead — and the rock agreed with the tree.Still unsatisfied, the tiger spotted a small toad hopping through the grass and demanded that the toad judge instead.

The clever toad said he could not decide fairly without seeing the pit with his own eyes, so all three walked back together.“Show me exactly how you were sitting when the priest found you,” said the toad, and the proud tiger jumped back down into the pit to demonstrate.“Now run, priest, run!” the toad called out, and the priest hurried safely away toward the temple gate.

Mountain Uncle roared with fury, clawing at the walls again, but the pit held him fast just as before.By morning, tired and ashamed, he promised the hunters who found him that he would never trouble a traveler again if they let him go free.From that day on, villagers in Kang Wen told the story often, laughing that even the mightiest tiger in the mountains could be outwitted by one small, patient toad.