The Poacher, The Tigress and the Jackal

On a bright and sunny afternoon one day in the deep, dark wood, a poacher was taking a leisurely stroll, on the hunt for game. Suddenly, out of the blue came the unmistakable yowling of a tiger! And it sounded like it was in distress. Picking up speed, the poacher came to a clearing where he saw the poor creature tied to a tree with a taut rope. The poacher immediately and instinctively drew his gun and was stopped by the tiger's cries of "Help!" Free me, please!" Lowering his weapon and narrowing his eyes, the poacher simply asked "Why should I?" The tiger looked up pleadingly and said "For I swear to you, good sir, that if you set me free neither I nor any of my kin will ever attack another man in this forest again." Now realizing this was a mother with cubs, the poacher hesitated a moment. The tigress could see this and said "Listen, brave man, if you go to the cunning jackal, he will tell you why you should or should not free me, as he is clever in all matters." The poacher eventually just nodded and decided to set off in search of this cunning jackal in order to hear what wisdom and counsel he could offer.

After having walked for what must have been at least a good hour, the poacher eventually came to a stream where he observed a wise, old matriarch elephant bathing and doing so in an undeniably joyous manner, spraying the water over herself and letting it run down in rivulets. While this may not have been the cunning jackal mentioned earlier, it was well-known throughout the forest that elephants had quite a lot of knowledge to share and particularly the matriarchal ones. So the poacher explained his situation and asked " Oh wise one, leader of many herds and grazer of grasses and herbs, should I free the striped menace or no?" The matriarch took a moment to ponder this. She eventually responded with " If it were me, sir, I most certainly would. For think about this: you may have noticed I am alone here, and may be wondering why that is. It is largely because of folks such as yourself. I have lost my entire herd to your bullets, your snares, or to be gawked at as circus clowns in pachyderm form. I have mourned far too many brothers, sisters, sons and daughters in my long lifetime. So, I implore you to find it within your heart to be better than your brethren and set that tigress free so she can go back to her den and her cubs. So she won't end up alone like me." The poacher said " Thank you, o wise one" and continued on his way. As he continued walking, a great sadness overcame him as he pondered what the matriarch had told him. He vowed to never kill another elephant again.

Having walked for at least another hour, the poacher eventually came to a thickly wooded area surrounded by thorny brush. Up ahead, he noticed a grouchy, lumbering sloth bear rummaging around in the dirt for grubs with his powerful claws. Now, this beast was certainly no cunning jackal, and sloth bears were often seen as rather intimidating and bad-tempered creatures but it was well-known throughout the forest that they knew their way around the nooks and crannies better than almost any other animal and that their legendary courage could be a great asset, so long as you didn't offend them. So the poacher plucked up his own courage, explained his situation and asked the sloth bear "O eater of grubs and climber of the tallest trees, should I free the striped menace or no?" The sloth bear turned around with a snort and said "Absolutely not. I mean, seriously, are you stunned, my boy? Perhaps a blow from one of my mighty paws will stun some sense back into you. Those vicious beasts look pretty as a rug on the floor, but they aren't any good for much else. Not that you folk are any better, mind you. And if you do decide to free that devilish she-cat, you'll find out the hard way why you yourself refer to her as that striped menace. If it please you though, do what you will. Frankly, all I care about is finding more grubs to fill my belly. And if you don't mind, I'd like you to bugger off now so I can continue to do just that." The sloth bear then shook his head with another dramatic snort and ambled along further into the brush, presumably in search of more grubs. The poacher called out "Thank you, o mighty one!" but the sloth bear was already too far away to hear. As he continued onward, the poacher found himself appreciating the sloth bear's gruff but honest attitude and simple lifestyle. He vowed to never kill another sloth bear again.

After walking for at least another two hours this time, the poacher eventually came to a sandy hollow surrounded by felled trees on either side. Standing proudly in between them was the cunning jackal himself, his golden pelt shining in the sunlight, his head high and eyes bright and alert, scanning the landscape around him. "Ah yes, I've been expecting you" the golden jackal said with a knowing grin. It was heard throughout the forest that the cunning jackal was extremely clever and also wise, and often knew things would come to pass before they did in real time. And so the poacher didn't have to explain his situation or even ask if he should free the striped menace before the jackal said "I believe you already know whether or not you should free the striped menace, as you call her. You see, on your travels today, and do correct me if I'm wrong, but I am quite certain that you've gained a newfound appreciation and respect for all things that live in this place. You may have even vowed never to kill certain animals again. And, believe me, I think the forest could use more men like you. Too many times have I seen men shoot, skin and hang the heads of great hunters on their walls with utter disregard for the life taken and the balance lost in the ecosystem as a result. So, free this beautiful and dangerous tigress. I know you will anyway. Be warned, though! She is a coldly pragmatic and ruthless individual and may have her own plans for you in the end. And, perhaps, she may be right to." And with that, the cunning jackal turned away with a flick of his bushy, golden tail and left the poacher stunned by his words. Still, the jackal was a beautiful and fascinating creature and the poacher vowed to never kill another one again.

On his way back to the tigress, the poacher had many things to ponder. He would free the tigress, the jackal was right on that count. Furthermore, the poacher vowed to put down his gun entirely and never kill another animal again. The jackal's parting words had also left him with a growing sense of unease, however. Should he trust this tigress? He supposed there was only one way to find out. As he approached the tree where the tigress was tied up, he said to her, "O fire of the forest, silent huntress of the night, I have decided to free you after all. And moreover, I have decided to lay down my weapon and never harm another beast here again." He proceeded to cut the tigress free using a hunter's knife he had on his belt. As he did so, the tigress immediately pounced on him, digging her claws in deep! The poacher had lain down his gun and his knife was flung from him as the tigress pounced. Meaning, he had no means with which to defend himself. "What are you doing? I have freed you!" The Tigress snarled and said, leaning down close, "And I do thank you for that, good sir. However, if I am to have the best possible chance at survival and, more importantly, if my cubs are as well, then I must not have you roaming about these woods. You may be respectful towards us now, and your claim of laying down your gun may ring true, but who's to say what you will do when a leopard takes your cattle due to extreme hunger? Or when a rhino charges one of your brethren in defense of his territory? Or how many trees you will fell when you need a new place to live? So, while I thank you for freeing me again, this must be goodbye." And the last thing the poacher saw was a row of sharp, pointy fangs coming for his throat. And the last thing he thought was what a thing to have been killed by the beast you once so mercilessly hunted, and how beautiful she was.