“Roar! I’m so hungry right now that I have to eat you up.”
“Oh no, what should I do…”
William began to completely immerse himself in the story. This was the crucial moment. I lowered my voice to make William concentrate more.
“The woodcutter thought to himself: If he were to be eaten by the tiger like this, his mother at home would also die, and there would be no greater act of unfilial piety than that. So he came up with a plan.”
I stopped speaking abruptly here and looked at William. Stopping the story at a crucial moment had the effect of making the listener focus more on the story itself.
Moreover, the purpose of telling William this story was to make him think of the tiger as his older brother so he would feel sympathy for his real older brother Kalroy, so I needed to tug at William’s heartstrings at this point. Sure enough, William wiggled his bottom and urged me to continue the story.
“What plan?”
“Well, what kind of plan could it be? How could he survive in front of a tiger trying to kill him?”
William frowned and fell into deep thought. Since he would have only received problems with set answers during class time, problems without predetermined answers would be difficult.
William, who had been agonizing for a long time while pulling at his hair and staring at the ceiling, finally opened his lips.
“Hmm… for the woodcutter, wouldn’t running away be the only answer? From the tiger’s perspective, the woodcutter is food, right? When he’s hungry and the food says ‘please don’t eat me,’ it would be strange not to eat it.”
Hearing his answer, William was gradually falling into my trap as I intended. I didn’t miss the opportunity and continued.
“So the woodcutter wondered what would happen if he became something precious to the tiger rather than food, and came up with a plan! What could that be?”
William looked at me with an expression that said he was even more clueless. He was holding his forehead with one hand as if his head hurt.
“Something precious… something precious that’s not food…”
William, who continued muttering to himself, shook his head from side to side.
“I don’t know. What could be more precious than food to a hungry tiger?”
I smiled sweetly and said.
“What could be more precious than food?”
“Well…”
“Let me give you a little hint: storytellers from The East believed that animals also have hearts like people. That they’re no different from humans.”
I placed my hand on the back of William’s hand. William, who had been looking elsewhere, met my eyes.
“Think about it. What could be so precious that you could endure hunger for it?”
William, who had been pondering deeply, sparkled his eyes.
“Um… family or friends?”
I raised my thumb with my other hand and praised him.
“Wow! I knew Your Highness would get it right because you’re so wise and clever.”
William tilted his head.
“What? This simple thing is the correct answer?”
“Yes. That’s the correct answer.”
“So the woodcutter treated the tiger as family? And the tiger actually believed it?”
I smiled gently and nodded. William, who had grasped my intention at once, was endlessly admirable.
“My goodness… The tiger seems so foolish. To fall for such a shallow trick…!”
“Yes, that’s right. It might seem foolish. But if you listen to the story until the end, you won’t be able to call the tiger foolish.”
“Why not?”
“Because the woodcutter suddenly said this to the tiger.”
I started imitating the woodcutter while lying flat on the floor.
“Big brother, where have you been all this time? After you disappeared like that, mother has been very worried. But since you’ve appeared like this, let’s go home right away. I’ll catch a deer and serve it to you.”
“Whoa… This is just like real brothers who were separated long ago.”
“That’s right. And the tiger spared the woodcutter’s life. Why do you think so? The tiger, an animal revered like a dragon in The East, wasn’t fooled because it was stupid, but because even though the woodcutter was trying to kill him, his sincerity in treating him like a real big brother touched the tiger’s heart.”
William nodded and asked back.
“Was the woodcutter really planning to take him home and catch a deer for him? What if the tiger ended up eating his mother too? Isn’t that too reckless?”
Keu… I almost let out an exclamation that should have stayed inside. How could William interpret an already established story from so many different angles? I don’t know whose student he is, but he’s truly remarkable. Remarkable!
“You’re absolutely right. The woodcutter thought like this: if he could just get the tiger down to the village, he could get help from the neighbors, so it would be better than being alone. But something completely unexpected happened.”
“What happened?”
“I don’t know if heaven helped, but this tiger was actually one whose mother tiger had died while giving birth, so he didn’t know who his mother was. The tiger, who truly believed the woodcutter’s words, shed tears and said this.”
I imitated the tiger with as much emotion as possible.
“I’ve lived as a beast in the mountains for so long that if I go down in this form, our elderly mother would surely be frightened. So please, younger brother, take good care of mother in my place.”
William’s mouth fell open.
“The woodcutter, who had harbored other intentions, must have felt guilty.”
“Yes, he did. The woodcutter, who never expected his lie told to survive would actually work, was moved by the tiger and promised to sincerely take good care of his mother. After watching the tiger disappear into the forest, he returned home, and the next day!”
“Qu-quickly tell me! Did the tiger betray him after all? As expected, if you trust carelessly, you get betrayed…”
“No, no. When the woodcutter went out to the yard the next day to go cut wood, there was ginseng as thick as an arm lying in the yard.”
“Ginseng? What’s ginseng?”
Ah, right. There’s no ginseng here.
“It’s like a medicinal herb, but it’s so rare that it’s a sacred root not easily spotted by human eyes.”
“Ah, so that ginseng was left overnight by the tiger big brother he met yesterday for mother to have?”
“That’s right! Seeing that, the woodcutter bowed in the direction where he met the tiger and cried while beating the ground, calling ‘big brother, big brother…’ Although he wasn’t a real big brother, the woodcutter had been lonely as an only son supporting his parents for a long time. He was grateful to the tiger who had become someone he could rely on, even if just for a moment.”
“Ahh… I see. It’s such a heartwarming story.”
William, who seemed moved and had a wistful expression, brushed his chest and suddenly called me.
“But Danny!”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Will Danny also become my tiger big brother?”
“Pardon?”
When I asked back, William scratched his flushed cheeks with his hand and said.
“I was about to be lonely too, but Danny appeared. Just like how the tiger big brother appeared to the woodcutter.”
“That may be true, but…”
At this completely different reaction from what I had initially intended, I didn’t know what to do and trailed off. William came closer and gripped my hands tightly. Then, just like when I told him the story of ‘Give me a rice cake and I won’t eat you,’ he started muttering to himself.
“Tiger big brother, big brother…”
“…Your Highness?”
“Hm?”
“The reason I told you this story was to let you know that brotherly affection has such great power that it can save people’s lives and move even the hearts of beasts.”
William let go of the hands he was holding. Then he narrowed his eyes and looked at me.
“What? So you’re saying that telling me the tiger story was ultimately because of Kalroy?”
“No, why would you put it that way?”
Although my conscience was pricking me inside, I firmly denied it and tapped my chest pretending to be frustrated. When I got agitated, William stepped back.
“If it’s not, then it’s not. Why are you getting angry…”
“A merchant I met at the market said so! Stories have lessons, and they should be told together with those lessons. He said all stories that people from The East have passed down from mouth to mouth for generations are like that!”
“I understand. So the lesson of this story is that brothers should get along well?”
“Yes. And take good care of your parents. Even beasts care for each other when they’re siblings—that kind of content is the lesson, he said.”
If you speak in a teaching manner, it creates resistance, but if you speak with the attitude of conveying a story you heard from someone else, there’s less resistance. I’m a child right now, and my opponent is stubborn, so this method seemed like it would work well.
William nodded.
“Danny’s attitude is suspicious, but the tiger story was interesting, so I’ll let it slide. Honestly, I also find killing Kalroy a bit much. When Aren comes tomorrow, I’ll ask what to do.”
“Yes. Your Highness truly is a wonderful person.”
“I’m wonderful?”
“Of course. If Your Highness weren’t wonderful, why would I have risked danger to refuse His Highness Kalroy’s summons?”
At my words, William frowned with displeasure. Only then did I realize I had misspoken. While I was thinking about how to change my words, William spoke first.
“Well, yes. Kalroy has been like that since he was young. He was desperate to take away anything that was mine. You would have been the same.”
“Haha… If I don’t go, that’s the end of it, isn’t it? He doesn’t have much power left now.”
Feeling like the atmosphere was getting strange, I gently pressed William’s shoulder to make him lie down and covered him with a blanket.
“Now, it’s late at night. It’s time to sleep.”
After extinguishing the candle to darken the room, I lay down next to William. I could hear William muttering in a low voice.
“I’ll never let you be taken away. No matter what happens, you…”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
