How the Tiger Got Scared of Drip-Drip

Once, when evening had already fallen, two peasants were sitting in a reed hut, talking to each other. One peasant asked the other:

"Aren’t you afraid to live alone in such a remote place?"

And the other replied:

"I’m not afraid of anyone—not a tiger, not a devil. The only thing I fear is the drip-drip from the roof."

At that very moment, a tiger happened to be hiding nearby. Hearing these words, the tiger quietly said to himself: "He’s not afraid of a tiger or a devil, only the drip-drip. So, this drip-drip must be scarier and fiercer than me. I’d better get out of here while I still can." With that, the tiger ran away from the hut. He ran and ran, not noticing how he ended up in a village. About twenty, maybe twenty-five families lived in that village.

As it happened, a thief had just sneaked into the village at that time. The thief approached the gates of a tall house, holding a large paper lantern in his hands. The tiger saw him, stopped in fear, and thought: "This must be that drip-drip." Thinking this, he cowered and decided to quietly go around the house. He circled it, found the reed hut, and lay down inside to sleep.

Soon, the thief ran there too—the villagers had scared him off. The thief lay down next to the tiger and fell asleep. The tiger lay there, trembling with fear, thinking: "This drip-drip is sleeping right next to me." He was too scared to lift his head. Meanwhile, the thief mistook the tiger for a cow and rejoiced: "What luck! What fortune! I’ve been running around all night for nothing—people scared me off, and now here’s a cow. I’ll take it with me." The tiger, paralyzed with fear, thought: "Let him lead me out of the hut, let him take me away—I still won’t lift my head."

By then, dawn was breaking. The thief decided to get a better look at the cow—how big was it? He looked and nearly had a heart attack. He bolted out of the hut and climbed to the very top of a tree. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a monkey appeared. Seeing the tiger in such a predicament, the monkey burst out laughing:

"What are you so afraid of, brother tiger?"

"Don’t you understand, sister monkey? Last night, I met the drip-drip. He led me around by a leash until dawn. It was a disaster!"

"What’s this drip-drip you’re talking about?"

"Look for yourself—I’m too scared. There he is, sitting in the tree."

"Are you seeing things? Drip-drip, you say? That’s a man sitting in the tree. If you don’t believe me, I’ll pull up a vine, tie one end to your paw and the other to mine. I’ll quickly knock him down, and you can feast to your heart’s content. But if it’s really drip-drip, I’ll shake my head. Then you run and drag me far away from danger. What do you say, agreed?"

"Agreed, agreed! Couldn’t have thought of a better plan!"

The monkey climbed the tree. Just as she reached the middle, the thief, out of fear, wet himself. Drip-drip fell on the monkey. The monkey shook her head, trying to shake it off. Seeing this, the tiger took off running at full speed, dragging the monkey behind him. The poor thing was killed.

The tiger ran over thirty miles in one breath, then stopped to rest on a high hill. He thought it would be nice to have some venison for lunch. He had heard that deer lived in the mountains but had never seen one. Suddenly, he spotted a creature in the distance running straight toward him. It was a deer. The deer saw the tiger, trembled with fear, and froze on the spot. The tiger smiled and very politely said to the deer:

"Please, my friend! Tell me your precious surname and glorious name!"

Hearing this, the deer immediately realized the tiger was foolish and, emboldened, replied:

"I have no surname, only a humble nickname. And I am called the Honorable Tiger."

The tiger was amazed by this nickname and said:

"Brother Honorable Tiger! Enough idle talk! Tell me, have you seen a deer anywhere?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I’m hungry. I want to feast on some venison."

"And I’m craving tiger meat. So first, tell me, have you seen a tiger?"

"No, no, I haven’t!"

"What’s that under your belly?"

"A wine kettle."

"You carry it with you?"

"Of course! I’ll have some venison, then wash it down with wine!"

"And what’s that on your head?"

"A bamboo cart."

"You drag it around with you?"

"Sure! If I catch a tiger, I can’t eat it all at once! So I put the leftovers on the cart—it’s convenient and neat."

The tiger was stunned, feeling as if his soul was about to leave his body. And he wet himself out of fear. Seeing this, the deer shouted:

"Drip-drip is here!"

Hearing this, the tiger took off running, and the deer, having waited for just this moment, turned and ran the other way.

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How the Tiger Got Scared of Drip-Drip

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