The Monkey, the Dragon, and the Tiger

          Once upon a time there was a great red dragon. One day, he ate the sun. This angered the gods. They sent a monkey to trick the dragon.
       
          The monkey went to the dragon and saw how big he was. He felt nervous. He asked, “How do you do?” The dragon looked down at the monkey. “What?” he roared. The monkey felt faint. Trembling, he answered, “Greetings to you, mighty dragon, swallower of suns. You truly are greater than the gods.” The dragon was pleased. “You’re right,” he said, with pride. “The only problem is,” the monkey went on, “there is already a king. He is a great big tiger who lives in a den in the bamboo forests. To be a king, you need to beat him.” “Alright,” said the dragon, “but after I have claimed my throne, I will eat you!” “Oh of course,” the monkey replied, “I would be honoured to be of use to a king.” He hoped the dragon would not see his knees shaking. And off the dragon went, to seek the tiger. The monkey gulped. “I better see the gods now,” he decided.

          He went back to the gods and told them what happened. “Now, the monkey said, “you must make a tiger king and give him extraordinary powers, so that he may defeat this dragon.” The gods looked troubled. “If could do that,” they said, “we would have given you the power necessary to defeat the dragon.” “What?” the monkey asked. “But you have to be able to do that, you are the gods!” He felt frightened. “We can give a tiger some special powers, but for him to become a king and defeat the dragon,” the gods replied, “he will have to pass a test. “What kind of test?” the monkey asked, puzzled. “A test that will challenge mind as well as his body. You must guide him.”  Then they sent the monkey on his way.

        The monkey travelled to the place where the tiger was. He felt a little scared. Although a tiger was not as scary as a dragon, it was still a tiger. He went to the tiger and asked, “H-how do you do?” The tiger, instead of roaring like the dragon, uttered a soft growl. “I know why you are here. Lead me to the test” he said. The monkey was puzzled, but he bowed and took the tiger to the place where the test was. It was deep in the forest.

      The first test involved the tiger jumping over some sticks with sharp points. Then, he had to cross a small valley by jumping onto bamboo sticks and getting across. This needed perfect balance. The next one involved going into a grove full of angry bees. The tiger had to get through it and get a rare orchid.
        Then, he had to cross a flooded riverside. It sounded simple, but the current was very strong and the tiger, despite being an adept swimmer, had trouble crossing it. After that, he had to fight a white tiger. The white tiger was big and very fierce and had long canines. However, the tiger was able to defeat his enemy, even though he received a few wounds.

        After that he had to go into a swamp and find a rare fish. Tigers liked fish, but they had trouble catching it. It would be much harder in a swamp. The tiger tried hard, but he could not even find the fish. He decided to lure the fish to him. He used the orchid he had gotten in one of his earlier tests as bait to attract the fish. Then he mauled the fish. The monkey was impressed.

        The final test involved the tiger going through a path in the forest. There were pools of water all along the path. There were also puddles of tree oil. The tiger had to go through the path without stepping in the puddles of oil. This was very hard, as the water and the oil looked the same, and he could not tell the difference. The tiger had to think of a way to pass this last ordeal. He knew that the oil was lighter than the water. Somehow he had to use that to his advantage. Then he had an idea. He took the fish he had caught in his last test, and placed in a patch of water. It floated up. The water could support the fish’s weight. Then he placed the fish in a puddle of tree oil. The fish sank, just like he had expected. So, he placed the fish on every puddle in his path. Whenever it floated up, he stepped on the puddle, as he knew it was water. Whenever it sank, he avoided the puddle, as he knew it was oil, and stepped on another puddle which was safe. This way, he safely went through the path.

        It took a while, but he was rewarded when he reached the end. The monkey was waiting for him. “Congratulations,” he told the tiger. “Now, you are king.” The tiger went to his den. There, he saw that the great red dragon was waiting for him. “Finally you have come,” he said. “Now, prepare to be defeated!”

        The dragon lunged at the tiger. With training against fighting opponents, like the white tiger who also lunged like the dragon, the tiger was able to dodge the attack. With balance he learnt from the bamboo exercise, the tiger managed to land a powerful blow at the dragon. Enraged, the dragon inhaled a lot of air and blew it out. The tiger had gone against the current in the flooded river, so he was able to withstand the force of that gust of air. The tiger jumped onto the dragon and bit his neck. The dragon swerved and managed to throw the tiger off. He landed wit a thud on the ground.

        Then, the dragon drew in his breath and blew out a stream of fire. The tiger dodged, but a part of his body was burned. However, the tiger had had to go through a grove infested with bees. He was able to bear the pain. The dragon sent another stream of fire at the tiger. The tiger dodged this one as well.

        Suddenly he remembered the orchid, and decided to trick the dragon. He would not be able to evade the dragon’s fiery breath forever. He threw the orchid at the ground and ran another way. The dragon’s attention was caught by the flower. Then, the tiger lunged at the dragon and slashed at his neck. The dragon disappeared in a puff of smoke. The world rejoiced. With the dragon dead, the tiger ruled, with the monkey as his servant.