The farmer’s wife and the tiger A tale from Pakistan ‘One day a farmer went with his oxen to plough his fied He had just ‘ume the first furrow when tiger walked up and sad: “Peace be with You. fiend. How are you this fine morning?” “The same to you, my lord, and Iam prety Well, hank you,’ replied the farmer, quaking with fear but thinking it wisest to be polite. “Lam glad to hear it, hecause Heaven has sent me o eat your two ‘oxen,” said the tiger cheerfully, *You are a God-fearing man, L know, so smake haste and unyoke them.” “Aren't you making a mistake, my lord?” asked the farmer. His ‘courage had retumed now that he knew the tiger was only proposing to gobble up his oxen, not hm, "Heaven sent me to plough this feld, and {inorder to do so, Tmust have oxen, Hadn't you better goand make further enauiries?" “There is no need to delay, and I should be sorry to keep you waiting,’ said the tiger “If you'll unyoke the oxen, I'l be ready in & moment 10 feat them.” With that the tiger began to sharpen his teeth and claws in-a ‘ery frightening manne, “The farmer begged and prayed that his oxen might not be eaten and ‘promised tha, i the tiger would spare them, he would give in exchange fine fat young milk cow of his wife's. ‘To this the tiger agreed, and taking the oxen with him for safety, the farmer hurried home. Seeing him return so early from the fields, is ‘wife, who Was an energetic, hard-working woman, called out: “What! ‘Lazy bones! Back already and may work just beginaine!” "The farmer explained how he had met the tiger and how, to save his ‘oxen, he had promised the cow in exchange. At his his wife began to shout, saying: “A likely story indeed! What do you mean by saving your ‘stupic oxen atthe expense of my beautiful cow! Where wil the children get milk? How can I cook without butter?” “All very fine, wif,” retried the farmer, “but how can we make bread without grain? How can we have grain without oxen to plough the Fields? Ie's surely beter to do without mill and butter than without ‘ead. So make haste and unie the cow. "You great silly” scolded his wife. ‘Ifyou had an ounce of sense in ‘your brain, you'd think of some plan to get us out of our dificulty!” “Think of one yoursef!” cried her husband ina rage. “So I will? replied his wife. "But if I do the thinking, you must obey ‘me, for I can’t do both, Go back tothe tiger and tell him that the eow ‘wouldn't come with you, but that your wife bringing it.” ‘The farmer, who vias a great coward, didn’t ike the idea of going back empty-handed tothe tiger, but ashe could not think of any other plan, he did ashe was told He found the tiger still sharpening his claws land teeth, he was so hungry. When he heard that he had to wait sill Tonger for his dinner, he began to grow and lash hs tail and eur his ‘whiskers in a most treble manner causing the poor farmer's knees to Jnoek together with terror. Now, when the farmer had Jeft dhe house, his Wille went out othe stable and saddled the pony. Then she put om her ‘husband's best clothes, ted the turban high so as to look as tal as possible, jumped astride the pony, and set off othe field where the tiger‘She rode along, swaggering like a man, til she came to where the Lane tamed into the field, and there she called out as bold as brass: "Now, please the powers I may find tiger inthe field! Thaven't tasted tiger since yesterday when Tate thee for breakfast.” Hearing these words and secing the speaker ride boldly toward him, ‘he tiger Was so alarmed that he timed tail and bolted into the forest. He ‘went at such a headlong pace that he nearly knocked down his ovn Jackal - tigers alivays have a jackal oftheir own clear away the bones after they have finished eating My lord! My lord” cried th jackal. ‘Where are you going so fast?” “Ran! Run!” panted the tiger. "There's the very devil ofa horseman in ‘Yonder field who thinks nothing of eating tree tigers for breakfast!” "At this the jackal Taughed behind his paw. My Jea ase,’ he sai, ‘ns sum has dazzled your eyest That was no borseman, but ony the farm's wife dressed up as aman” "ae yo quite sre” asked he tiger, pausing in his light “Quite sure, my Tord said the jackal, ‘and i your lordship’s eyes had ‘not been dazed ~ ahem ~by the sun, your lrdship would have seen the wornan’s pigtail hanging down behind he.” “But you may be mistaken,” persisted the cowardly iger, she was the very devil ofa horseman to look st" “Who's aaid!” replied the jackal. ‘Comet Don't give up your dinner because of a woman! We'll go together.” “No! You might take me there and then run away and leave me!" said the tiger fearfully. “Well tus te ou als together shen, so tha T can't” suggested the cuming jackal. He was determined not to be done out of his bones at the end ofthe feast. “To this the tiger agreed, and having ted ther ils together ina rect ‘ot, the pair set off arm in arm. ‘Now the farmer and his wife had remained in the field, lughing over the tick they had played onthe tiger. Suddenly o and bebo, what should they see but the tiger and the jackal coming toward them with, thei tals ied together. “Run!” ered the farmer. “We ae lost! We ae Tost!” ‘Nothing of the kind, you great baby,” answered his wife coolly. ‘Stop ‘hat noise T can't hear myself speak!” ‘She waited nil the par of animals ws within hail, then calle out politely: ‘How very kind of you, dear Mr Jackal bring me such a nice fat tiger! shan't be a moment finishing off my share of him, and then + you can have the bones.” "At these words the tiger became wild with right and, quite forgeting the jackal and the reef knot in their tls he bolted away Tul tit, ‘dragging the jackal behind him. Burpy, bump, bump, over the stones! | Senitch, serach, sramble, dough the thomy bushes! ~Invain the poor jackal howled and shicked othe tiger stop, but the noise behind him only frightened the coward more. Away he went, selter, hurry-scamry, over Bill and dle il he was neatly dead |< with fatigue, snd the jockal was quite dead from bumps and bruises And the farmer and his wife were never troubled by the tiger again Retold by fram Chunghtai ‘Translated by Fram Chunghval and S Afag Ahmed