THE UNMANNERLY TIGER
by William Elliot Griffis · from Korean Fairy Tales
Adapted Version
Once there was a very big tiger. He was strong. He was proud. He thought he was very, very smart. No hunter could catch him. He laughed at their traps. He ate many fat deer. He was a big, big tiger. He lived in the high, high hills. He felt very safe.
One day, Big Tiger walked in the forest. It was autumn. He was very hungry. He looked for food. He walked around a big rock. He saw something shiny. It looked like a big tiger. Big Tiger stopped. He twitched his tail. He growled a loud growl. He was ready to fight. He wanted to win. He showed his sharp teeth.
The other tiger did the same thing. Big Tiger jumped high. He wanted to fight. He landed in a big hole. Crash! A heavy lid closed above him. It was dark. He was hurt. He was very surprised. There was no other tiger. He saw his own face. It was in a shiny mirror. He was tricked! Big Tiger was caught. He was very sad.
A Kind Priest walked by. He heard a sad sound. It was Big Tiger. He was in the hole. The Kind Priest saw him. The priest wanted to help all animals. He helped the tiger climb out.
Big Tiger was out. He was still very hungry. "Thank you," he said. "Now I will keep you here. I am so hungry!" The Kind Priest was scared.
"That is not fair!" said the priest. "I helped you!" He saw a big talking tree. "Who is right?" he asked the tree. The tree said, "The priest is right. You must be kind."
Big Tiger was still grumpy. "No!" he said. The Kind Priest saw a big talking rock. "Who is right?" he asked the rock. The rock said, "The priest is right. You must be kind."
Big Tiger was still hungry. He felt a little bit silly. "Okay," he said. "Let's ask a little toad."
A clever toad hopped up. He was a friend of the priest. "Hmm," said the toad. "I need to see the hole. Show me where you fell."
They went to the hole. The toad said, "Show me how you fell!" Big Tiger looked into the hole. He showed the toad. The Kind Priest ran, ran, ran away. He ran to his safe house!
The toad said, "You were wrong, Big Tiger! Be kind!" Then the clever toad hopped into a tiny crack in the rock.
Big Tiger was so, so angry! He tried to get the toad. He bumped his nose on the hard rock. It hurt! He bumped it again and again. His nose hurt so much. He got very, very tired. He fell asleep. He never woke up.
A hunter came. He saw the tiger. The tiger was still. The hunter took the tiger's fur. The clever toad told his children, "I was so smart!"
Original Story
THE UNMANNERLY TIGER
“Mountain Uncle” was the name given by the villagers to a splendid striped tiger that lived among the highlands of Kang Wen, the long province which from its cliffs overlooks the Sea of Japan. Hunters rarely saw him, and among his fellow-tigers the Mountain Uncle boasted that, though often fired at, he had never been wounded; while as for traps—he knew all about them and laughed at the devices used by man to catch him and to strip him of his coveted skin. In summer he kept among the high hills and lived on fat deer. In winter, when heavy snow, biting winds, and terrible cold kept human beings within doors, old Mountain Uncle would sally forth to the villages. There he would prowl around the stables, the cattle enclosures, or the pig pens, in hopes of clawing and dragging out a young donkey, a fat calf, or a suckling pig. Too often he succeeded, so that he was the terror of the country for leagues around.
One day in autumn, Mountain Uncle was rambling among the lower hills. Though far from any village, he kept a sharp lookout for traps and hunters, but none seemed to be near. He was very hungry and hoped for game.
But on coming round a great rock, Mountain Uncle suddenly saw in his path some feet ahead, as he thought, a big tiger like himself.
He stopped, twitched his tail most ferociously as a challenge, showed fight by growling, and got ready to spring. What was his surprise to see the other tiger doing exactly the same things. Mountain Uncle was sure there would be a terrible struggle, but this was just what he wanted, for he expected to win.
But after a tremendous leap in the air he landed in a pit and all of a heap, bruised and disappointed. There was no tiger to be seen, but instead a heavy lid of logs had closed over his head with a crash and he lay in darkness. Old Mountain Uncle was caught at last. Yes, the hunter had concealed the pit with sticks and leaves, and on the upright timbers, covered with vines and brushwood, had hung a looking-glass. Mountain Uncle had often beheld his own face and body in the water, when he stooped to drink, but this time not seeing any water he was deceived into thinking a real tiger wanted to fight him.
By and by, a Buddhist priest came along, who believed in being kind to all living creatures. Hearing an animal moaning, he opened the trap and lifting the lid saw old Mountain Uncle at the bottom licking his bruised paw.
“Oh, please, Mr. Man, let me get out. I’m hurt badly,” said the tiger.
Thereupon the priest lifted up one of the logs and slid it down, until it rested on the bottom of the pit. Then the tiger climbed up and out. Old Mountain Uncle expressed his thanks volubly, saying to the shaven head:
“I am deeply grateful to you, sir, for helping me out of my trouble. Nevertheless, as I am very hungry, I must eat you up.”
The priest, very much surprised and indignant, protested against such vile ingratitude. To say the least, it was very bad manners and entirely against the law of the mountains, and he appealed to a big tree to decide between them.
The spirit in the tree spoke through the rustling leaves and declared that the man should go free and that the tiger was both ungrateful and unmannerly.
Old Mountain Uncle was not satisfied yet, especially as the priest was unusually fat and would make a very good dinner. However, he allowed the man to appeal once more and this time to a big rock.
“The man is certainly right venerable Mountain Uncle, and you are wholly wrong,” said the spirit in the rock. “Your master, the Mountain Spirit, who rides on the green bull and the piebald horse to punish his enemies, will certainly chastise you if you devour this priest. You will be no fit messenger of the Mountain Lord if you are so ungrateful as to eat the man who saved you from starvation or death in the trap. It is shockingly bad manners even to think of such a thing.”
The tiger felt ashamed, but his eyes still glared with hunger; so, to be sure of saving his own skin, the priest proposed to make the toad a judge. The tiger agreed.
But the toad, with his gold-rimmed eyes, looked very wise, and instead of answering quickly, as the tree and rock did, deliberated a long time. The priest’s heart sank while the tiger moved his jaws as if anticipating his feast. He felt sure that Old Speckled Back would decide in his favor.
“I must go and see the trap before I can make up my mind,” said the toad, who looked as solemn as a magistrate. So all three leaped, hopped, or walked to the trap. The tiger, moving fast, was there first, which was just what the toad, who was a friend of the priest, wanted. Besides, Old Speckled Back was diligently looking for a crack in the rocks near by.
So while the toad and the tiger were studying the matter, the priest ran off and saved himself within the monastery gates. When at last Old Speckled Back decided against Mountain Uncle and in favor of the man, he had no sooner finished his judgment than he hopped into the rock crevice, and, crawling far inside defied the tiger, calling him an unmannerly brute and an ungrateful beast, and daring him to do his worst.
Old Mountain Uncle was so mad with rage and hunger that his craftiness seemed turned into stupidity. He clawed at the rock to get at the toad, but Speckled Back, safe within, only laughed. Unable to do any harm, the tiger flew into a passion of rage. The hotter his temper grew, the more he lost his wit. Poking his nose inside the crack he rubbed it so hard on the rough rock that he soon bled to death.
When the hunter came along he marveled at what he saw, but he was glad to get rich by selling the tiger’s fur, bones, and claws; for in Korea nothing sells so well as a tiger. As for the toad, he told to several generations of his descendants the story of how he outwitted the old Mountain Uncle.
Story DNA
Moral
Ingratitude and unbridled rage can lead to one's own downfall, while wisdom and kindness can save lives.
Plot Summary
A fearsome tiger, Mountain Uncle, falls into a hunter's trap after mistaking his reflection for a rival. A kind Buddhist priest frees him, but the ungrateful tiger immediately threatens to eat his rescuer. The priest appeals to a tree and a rock, both of which condemn the tiger's ingratitude. Finally, a wise toad is chosen as judge; he cleverly distracts the tiger by insisting on seeing the trap, allowing the priest to escape. Enraged by the toad's judgment and the priest's escape, the tiger, in his fury, rubs his nose on a rock until he bleeds to death, ultimately meeting his end due to his own unbridled rage and ingratitude.
Themes
Emotional Arc
danger to relief | pride to downfall
Writing Style
Narrative Elements
Cultural Context
Tigers were historically prevalent in Korea and often featured in folklore, sometimes as powerful, sometimes as foolish. Buddhism was a significant religion in Korea.
Plot Beats (13)
- Mountain Uncle, a powerful and feared tiger, boasts of never being caught by hunters.
- One autumn day, while hunting, Mountain Uncle sees what he thinks is another tiger and prepares to fight.
- He leaps into a pit trap, realizing he was deceived by a looking-glass and his own reflection.
- A kind Buddhist priest hears the tiger's moans and, believing in kindness to all creatures, frees him from the pit.
- The ungrateful tiger immediately declares his intention to eat the priest, citing his hunger.
- The priest protests the ingratitude and appeals to a big tree for judgment, which rules in the priest's favor.
- The tiger, still unsatisfied, allows the priest to appeal to a big rock, which also rules against the tiger.
- The tiger, still hungry but shamed, agrees to let a toad be the final judge.
- The toad, a friend of the priest, deliberates slowly and insists on seeing the trap to make a decision.
- At the trap, the toad distracts the tiger, allowing the priest to run to safety within a monastery.
- The toad then delivers its judgment against the tiger and hides in a rock crevice.
- The tiger, furious with rage and hunger, tries to get at the toad, rubbing his nose on the rough rock until he bleeds to death.
- A hunter finds the dead tiger and becomes rich selling its parts, while the toad boasts of his cleverness for generations.
Characters
Mountain Uncle
A splendid, large striped tiger, powerful and well-fed, especially in summer. His fur is thick and lustrous, with prominent black stripes against a tawny orange background. He is agile and strong, capable of tremendous leaps.
Attire: None, as he is an animal.
Wants: To eat and survive, to maintain his reputation as an uncatchable and powerful tiger.
Flaw: His overwhelming hunger, his pride, his short temper, and his lack of true wisdom, which can be exploited.
Starts as a cunning and feared predator, is tricked and caught, then saved. He attempts to betray his savior, is outwitted by smaller creatures, and ultimately dies a foolish death due to his own rage and hunger, losing his reputation.
Boastful, cunning, ungrateful, hungry, easily enraged, and ultimately foolish. He is proud of his ability to evade hunters but is also driven by a primal hunger.
Buddhist Priest
A man of average height and build, described as 'unusually fat,' suggesting a comfortable life within the monastery. His skin is likely fair, consistent with Korean ethnicity.
Attire: Simple, flowing robes typical of a Korean Buddhist priest. These would likely be made of plain, undyed or earth-toned linen or cotton fabric, possibly a muted grey or brown, with a simple sash. He would wear comfortable, practical sandals.
Wants: To live according to Buddhist principles of compassion, to survive when threatened.
Flaw: His initial trust and compassion make him vulnerable to the tiger's ingratitude.
Starts as a compassionate rescuer, becomes a potential victim, and through his wit, escapes danger, reinforcing the idea that wisdom can overcome brute force.
Kind, compassionate, believes in being kind to all living creatures, indignant when faced with ingratitude, resourceful, and quick-thinking when his life is threatened.
Tree Spirit
Invisible, manifests as the rustling leaves of a big tree. Its presence is felt rather than seen.
Attire: Not applicable.
Wants: To maintain justice and moral order in the natural world.
Flaw: None apparent.
Acts as an impartial judge, confirming the tiger's ungratefulness.
Wise, just, speaks truthfully, upholds moral law.
Rock Spirit
Invisible, manifests through a big rock. Its presence is felt rather than seen.
Attire: Not applicable.
Wants: To maintain justice and moral order, to warn against transgression.
Flaw: None apparent.
Acts as an impartial judge, further condemning the tiger and warning of divine retribution.
Wise, just, upholds moral law, knowledgeable about the Mountain Spirit.
Toad
A toad, described as 'Old Speckled Back,' implying an aged appearance with a mottled or speckled skin pattern. He has 'gold-rimmed eyes,' giving him a wise and solemn look. He is small enough to hide in a rock crevice.
Attire: None, as he is an animal.
Wants: To save the priest, to uphold justice, and to outwit the ungrateful tiger.
Flaw: His small size makes him physically vulnerable to the tiger.
Starts as a seemingly insignificant creature, becomes the ultimate arbiter of justice, and through his cunning, saves the priest and causes the tiger's downfall, becoming a celebrated figure among his descendants.
Wise, cunning, deliberate, loyal (to the priest), brave, and a trickster. He is not easily swayed and thinks strategically.
Hunter
Not explicitly described, but would be a Korean man, likely lean and weathered from outdoor life. His skin would be tanned from exposure.
Attire: Practical, durable clothing suitable for hunting in the Korean highlands. This would include sturdy trousers, a jacket or vest made of thick cotton or hemp, and perhaps a simple hat. Colors would be earthy and muted.
Wants: To catch the tiger for its valuable fur, bones, and claws, to get rich.
Flaw: None explicitly shown, but his methods are outwitted by the tiger's initial cunning.
Serves as the initial catalyst for the tiger's capture and ultimately benefits from the tiger's demise, without direct involvement in the moral conflict.
Resourceful, patient (in setting traps), pragmatic, and motivated by profit.
Locations
Highlands of Kang Wen
Rugged, elevated terrain with cliffs overlooking the Sea of Japan. In summer, it's home to deer; in winter, heavy snow, biting winds, and terrible cold prevail.
Mood: Wild, untamed, dangerous, remote
The general habitat of Mountain Uncle, where he lives and hunts.
Hunter's Pit Trap
A deep pit concealed with sticks and leaves, designed to catch large animals. Upright timbers covered with vines and brushwood surround the opening, from which a looking-glass is hung.
Mood: Deceptive, dangerous, isolated
Mountain Uncle is tricked and falls into the trap, then is later freed by the priest.
Monastery Gates
The entrance to a Buddhist monastery, providing safety and sanctuary.
Mood: Safe, sacred, protective
The priest escapes the tiger by running into the monastery gates.
Rock Crevice
A narrow, deep crack in a large rock, providing a secure hiding place for the toad.
Mood: Safe, defiant, confined
The toad hides in the crevice after delivering his judgment, leading to the tiger's demise.