The Tiger who built a Temple

The Tiger who built a Temple.

Deep in the Jungles bordering Ancient India and Ancient Thailand, a Tiger chased down a Malaysian Tapir for food. Once the Tiger caught the Tapir in it's claws, it snapped the poor animal's neck with it's mighty jaw and feasted. The Forest had seen better days lately, trees chopped down, Shrub and brush lost to man made fires and storms. Prey had been hard to come across as a result.

The Tiger walked a very short distance until he found a temple dedicated to the Buddha that had seen better days due to neglect, to say the least. The Tiger decided to rest under the decaying shrine statue inside as he digested his lunch. After a short while, the Tiger fell asleep.

After the Tiger woke up, he felt strangely cold and exposed to the elements. When he saw his shadow looked like a human's shadow, he gasped. The Statue glowed with a golden aura, and a robe integrated from thin air and magically wrapped itself around the human standing where a Tiger once napped.

"Tiger, I am the spirit of this Shrine. I transformed you into a human. Your human name shall be Rakhavaala*. If you wish to return to being a Tiger again, they you are to restore the Temple and the Jungle to it's former glory, then you will be free to return to your life in the jungle. First, replant some Trees, grasses and Shrubs. Down the stream is a village." A voice emanating from the statue instructed.

The glowing aura around the statue then faded.

So Rakhavaala set to collecting burying seeds from as many Trees, grasses and shrubs as he could find. Once they were all underground, he set for the village, to get a watering pot to fill with water. Once he filled the pot with water, he brought the pot with him so he could water the seedlings every day until the Jungle had grown back and the river and wildlife returned a year later. 

"The Jungle is healthy enough to survive on it's own again, now you must restore the Temple. To the east is a Village with lots of timber, stone and clay with which to rebuild the Temple. " said the Statue.

Rakhavaala traveled eastward until he reached a village with lots of rocks and clay in the riverbanks by around nightfall. A woman walked up to him and said "You look tired, would you need somewhere to rest. Rakhavaala looked at this woman and believed that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. (Then again, he didn't see Humans all that often before as a Tiger in the jungle.)

Rakhavaala said "Yes, I am tired. Now that you mention it I could use some food, too...Say what's your name?"

"My name is Khwayta**!" said the woman. "Come back to my home, you may eat and rest for the night with me and my parents!"

So Rakhavaala ate a simple supper of bread and lodged for the night at the woman's house.

Rakhavaala fell deeply in love with Khwayta, Rakhavaala gathered timber, clay and rocks in a cart that Khwayta provided him, worked diligently rebuilding the Temple with each shipment, and every time he had to harvest more building material, he would spend the night with her and his love for her would grow more and more. Eventually, Khwayta bore him two sons and a daughter.

After several Years, Rakhavaala finally rebuilt the neglected temple. Rakhavaala spent one last night with his wife, sons and daughter, knowing that at dawn tomorrow, he would return to the temple in secret and pray for the spirit of the temple to return him to his previous life as a Tiger.

The next day, Rakhavaala offered a prayer to the statue in the newly reconstructed shrine, and the Spirit kept it's promise. The Man had become a Tiger again. Khwayta and her Children through the forest on their way to the Temple. 

The Tiger had caught a Duck mid-flight and had jumped up with it into a tree to eat when it saw Khwayta and her children and was saddened by the fact that they couldn't be together anymore. He was happy to be back in the jungle as a Tiger, but he missed his human wife. 

At the Temple, Khwayta prayed the statue of Buddha, begging to be reunited with her estranged husband.

"Your husband was a Tiger that I transformed into a Human to rebuild my Temple." a Voice called out.

"Who said that?" asked the daughter.

"I am the spirit that inhabits this temple. I tasked your father with rebuilding my Temple and replanting the jungles around it. Do you want to be with Rakhavaala again, Khwayta?"

There was a pause, followed by "Yes...I do." from Khwayta.

The children watched in amazement as their mother was magically transformed into a Tiger. "Seek out your husband, Khwayta, he is resting in a tree by a Waterfall north of here!" a voice said from inside the Temple.

The Tigress standing before the children took one last look at all of them, and took off north.

The Tiger had slept on the branch of a tree over a waterfall basin, sad and lonely. A roar awoke the beast at dusk. A Tigress was standing on the ground, under the branches of his tree, the Tiger dropped down and stared at the Tigress. Her scent smelled like Khwayta, and he could tell in her eyes it was her!

Overjoyed, the Tiger and Tigress ran through the jungle together, husband and wife once more. After some time, Khwayta bore Rakhavaala a litter of Tiger cubs.

Rakhavaala and Khwayta's human children decided to tend to the Temple and the small jungle surrounding it out of respect for their parents.

*"Rakhavaala" means "Caretaker in Hindi" (According to Google Translate, so I could be wrong.)

** "Khwayta" is Thai for "Beauty" or "Lovely Sight" (According to Google Translate, so I could be wrong.)