The Tiger
From the beginning of time out of the silence, Tiger sang her song of the earth
to protect the forest and the kingdom.
High in the mountains Tiger and her cub watched and waited, but as time
went by Tiger grew older and she thought her time was no longer. Danger
crept into her world, people from the kingdom in search of food. Tiger raged,
leapt into the trees of the dark forest, wild cat eyes in search of men.
Late in the evening, when the men were sitting round the fire, tiger’s song
grew stronger. The fire went wild. The men sat there in amazement, the fire
calmed down and, as the men thought it was all over, tiger leapt from the fire
her song still so strong. Hidden in the bushes and pleased with her mother
cub sat and watched, learning a lot.
When it was all over, people from the kingdom fled and did not ever come
back.
Sacred cat climbed again into the mountains with her cub running along
behind her. As she perched on the mountain tops she sang her final magic
spell and leapt into the sun. Her orange coat made the sun blaze hotter and
brighter as she whispered her song to her cub.
Then the cub became the protector, her warm thick breath started a new
song.
By Chloe Martin
The white Bengal tiger
From the beginning of time out of the silence, White Tiger walked the sun to rise the
Earth to life and the moon to wax and wane. White Tiger walked the special walk to
protect her land. But time was passing, season upon season, so White Tiger changed
her walk to a march of finding. As she marched the world crept into the hidden
jungle.
Wood cutters came and cut trees down so the animals fled. In the chaos a
woodcutter’s child was left all alone. The woodcutters had gone to cut trees when the
girl awoke.
So Sacred Cat rose and leapt. The girl slept on and the animals thought of a plan.
Late that night all the animals gathered around the woodcutters camp. The fire went
out. The woodcutters were silent. They tried to light the fire but saw flashes of the
animals amongst the trees and ran.
All was happy, so Ghost Cat went back to the sleeping child. She woke and saw the
cat’s wild eyes, white striped coat, huge paws, thick dappled fur and she felt the warm
breath of the stealthy cat.
The next day Tiger rose. Child and Tiger climbed and climbed the trees searching for
food. But none had the fruit they were looking for. Tiger taught the Child the ways of
the forest how to search for fruit and how to talk to the animals.
But Tiger was old. One night the child took the Great Cat’s head in her hands. The
tiger licked the child’s cold face and child became tiger, thick furred, striped like a
zebra. Old Tiger leapt into the sky and turned into a beam of light.
From then on Young Tiger walked the walk again.
Charlie Backhurst.
The Tiger
From the beginning of time out of the silence Tiger sang the
sun to rise, the rain to fall and the stars to come out at night.
Tiger circled the jungle and as she waked she wove words of
protection, songs of hiding and magic spell to hide her world in
mist and memory.
As tiger grew old she changed her song to spell of finding.
She
would find the next singer the one who would come after her.
And as she searched the world crept in to the trees.
Deep in the jungle wood cutters came to kill the trees and the
animals in it. Tiger watched them with her beady cat eyes as
they destroyed her world.
One night when the wood cutters were huddled around their
fire, Tiger raged not one ghost but many – hundreds of them all
around. Once cat in the fire roared, and as she roared the trees
were alive with the animals’ booming voices. Tigers roared,
monkeys hooted and birds sang their hearts out.
The woodcutter screamed and fled, never to return again.
But
the wood cutters did not realize that they had left a boy behind.
The next day Tiger found the sleeping boy and wrapped him
warmly in her stripy fur. And as she lay there with the sleeping
child Tiger remembered, years before, being human.
Child woke, feeling the warm breath of the spirit cat close on
his skin. Then cat woke, rose, and leapt deep into the jungle
with the boy clinging tight to her back.
In a little clearing deep in the trees, boy learnt to sing the trees
to life and call to the sun to warm the world. He learnt to play
with the monkeys and to climb trees. Tiger purred richly at
these changes. Her teaching finished, her song changed too.
One day in the shade of the trees, the boy took the tiger’s head
in his hands. Then tiger licked the child’s warm face and as she
licked child became tiger with wild cat eyes, thick striped fur,
Ghost Cat.
Her job finished Old Tiger leapt into the sky and up into the
sun.
From that day onwards Young Tiger sang the sun to rise, the
rain to fall and the stars to come out at night.
By Abigail Pyne