Bengal Tiger – A Tale From The Sundarbans| Story by Siddharth,12,Mumbai
The majestic Bengal tiger deserves a voice, don’t you think? 12-year-old Siddharth Varadaprasad from Mumbai, gives him one in this touching story.
Hello, my name is Livestrong. I am a Bengal tiger. This story is about me. I was born in the Sundarbans forest and raised by my parents. My father taught me to defend myself and hunt and my mother taught me everything she knew. We lived a happy life for some time.
One day, disaster struck. A hunter killed my father. My mother and I were grief stricken.
For a while, my mother was extremely sad, but life moved on. My mother would hunt animals and we would eat them. Then one day, my mother fell ill. I called Doctor Giraffe and he tried giving mother some medicine but her condition went from bad to worse.
She called me aside and said that I must put to use everything she had taught me to the fullest and must remember to not give in to sorrow and live life to the fullest. The same day she died. I was extremely upset but I followed her advice and did not ever give in to sorrow.
Life went on. It was tough but manageable.
One day, while I was finishing my lunch, I heard a slight rustling near my cave. I came outside to see what it was but just as I stepped out, something grabbed my arms and legs, and before I knew it I was unconscious.
Later, when I opened my eyes, I found myself in a cage. Surprised, I looked around me and saw a kind looking man looking at me intently. He then spoke to me. He said that he was the Maharaja of Bengal and that he wanted to keep me as a pet.
Now, ordinarily I would have panicked, but something about that man kept me calm and his eyes soothed me. Then I told him my name and that I could live with him but he would have to maintain me well. The Maharaja agreed and let me out of the cage. And then my new life of ease and comfort began.
I often went hunting with the Maharaja and we made a good team. I would camouflage myself and stalk deer and different animals while the Maharaja used his gun to shoot animals. But whenever he shot a tiger, I would frown and sulk that day, but was fine the next day. Gradually, the Maharaja and I became very good friends.
One day the two of us went boating. We were immersed in our conversation when the boatman’s shriek brought us back into the world. We noticed that a group of crocodiles had surrounded us and were gnashing their teeth. Without a second of hesitation, I jumped into the water and scared the crocodiles away. They were many of them and I was just one but we Bengal tigers are ace swimmers and after a fearsome fight, I sent the crocodiles packing. The Maharaja was amazed.
When we returned to the palace, I was made a national hero and that was the proudest day of my life. The Maharaja said that he was a fool to hunt tigers and that from now on hunting tigers would be declared as a crime in his country. I was pleased with myself and spent the rest of my days happily.
One Response
Brilliant story …love the autobiographical style of writing