Domesticated

The rule for this contest is that you have 15 minutes to write a story or poem. The prompt was a picture of a tiger walking through water with plants in the background.

Trafalgar took one last sip of his coffee before giving his mate a quick peck on the cheek and heading for the door.

“Trafalgar!”

He froze in his tracks. Jeez. What is it now? “Yes, Pumpkin?”

“Remember the Jackson’s are coming over for dinner. Bring home a gazelle or something.”

“No problem.” No problem my ass. Those things could run like the wind. Did she think they grew on trees?

With briefcase in hand, he made it about halfway across a large plain when an idea struck him. He had the same idea every morning about this time.

A nice nap would be great about now.

No sooner said than done. Never mind that he had just slept, waking only long enough to spend a quality ten seconds with his wife, followed by breakfast.

The sun was setting when Trafalgar lifted his head and considered his options. He was pretty sure he couldn’t sleep another minute. Maybe he should go home and see what was for dinner.

That’s when it hit him. The gazelle! He had to find one of those things in a hurry.

Trafalgar bounded around the plains for a good fifteen minutes before an idea struck him. He started to settle down in some tall grass for a nap when his stomach growled. The gazelle!

Twenty minutes later, he walked into the house and dropped off a large something on the kitchen counter. He had just settled in front of the T.V. when a roar from the kitchen caught his attention.

Jeez. What is it now? "What’s that dear?”

“What the hell is this? I told you to get a gazelle and you bring home a haunch of something that even the hyenas won’t eat. This smells like it has been rotting out there for a week. I should have listened to mom. ‘Marry a tiger with a radio collar,’ she said. ‘They always end up on a nice preserve.’ But no, I had to go with you. If I hadn’t been in season ….blah, blah, blah.”

Trafalgar turned up the volume. She would be ranting for another thirty minutes or so. In the mean time, his favorite program was showing on the Food Chain channel. Tonight they were showing how to stalk, catch and prepare Bushmen.