Nature's Twist

by Ayoola Olafenwa

CHAPTER 7 : THE SABERTOOTHED CAT

  In the animal kingdom there exists the tormentor of all savages, weaker animals and the humans. A mysterious tiger, looking fearful and monstrous, nicknamed the Sabertoothed cat. It had a set of big serrated teeth at both the upper and lower jaw. Every hunter that set his eyes on this creature threw away his weapon and ran for his life. Even other tigers ran away from the sabertoothed cat as it's so cruel and would devour anything at sight. It sometimes moved out of the kingdom into the human habitation and everyone had to run away for their life. No hunter had the courage to face this creature. While other tigers hunt in group, he himself hunted alone killing more animals. Whenever this creature visited the human world, it’s fierce appearance caused a stream of fear to flow through everyone and they took to their heels. Many hunters were afraid to go into the kingdom to hunt in fear of this tiger. When the reign of this mysterious creature remained unchecked, the humans decided to do something to stop it. The people of the land closest to the animal kingdom known as Sava were most affected by this tiger. The king of Sava decided to hold a meeting with his people concerning this sabertoothed tiger. All the hunters of Sava were invited to the meeting. The king addressed the people by first of all welcoming all of them to the meeting. "We all continue to be terrified by this mysterious tiger which has endangered our lives. Most of us find it difficult to perform our regular activities during the day. Now this is the solution, six bold hunters shall be chosen to guide round the animal kingdom and kill this tiger whenever it comes out. " Everybody was very happy with the king's suggestion and they believed that this will be the final solution to their problem. Six well known courageous hunters were chosen and these included Bob, Clint, Ted, Joe, Tim and Toby. Bob, the most courageous hunter among the hunters, assured the king that they will make sure that they killed the tiger. "Don't worry your highness, I shall bring the dead body of the sabertoothed tiger to your palace within two days. " Everyone returned back to their various homes feeling happy. The hunters started their work immediately. They surrounded the kingdom waiting for the sabertoothed tiger.”

  Within the next three days, the tiger failed to appear as if it had known that humans had set a trap for him to be captured. The hunters continued to be bored with this job as the only animals that appear were the weaker animals such as antelopes and zebras which they killed, roasted and ate. One of the dogs Bob used as pets, helped him with his hunting, it can easily locate any animal with the strong sensitivity of his sensory organ. Bob usually sent his dog into the animal kingdom to check for the creature but the dog always came back with no sign. At the fourth night when some of the hunters were dozing, they suddenly heard the strange sound of something running, this woke them up and they saw the frightening image of the tiger running towards them aggressively. The hunters who became extremely frightened by the unexpected appearance of this tiger abandoned their weapons and took to their heels. But Bob stood up to the occasion, threw his arrow at this creature and it expertly escaped the arrow. This made the sabertoothed tiger more furious and he jumped but fortunately for Bob the tiger hit the bark of a tree near him blindly. Bob became extremely terrified as he started running with all his power. If he contested with the fastest sprinter in the world with that speed, he will win. His dog served as the scapegoat which the tiger devoured but that did not stop it from pursuing Bob. Bob ran all his way towards his home kicked the door of his house with an incredible strength and it give way, he quickly used a table to back the door so that it won't remain wide opened and the tiger will not come and meet him inside. However the tiger turned its back when he entered into the house. His sudden rush into his house woke up his wife and Mavis. He entered into his room shouting, "tiger, tiger, tiger....." None of his family members could understand why he was shouting tiger. "What's the matter?" his wife asked anxiously. After five minutes, he returned back to his senses. He explained to his wife what happened concerning the sabertoothed tiger and his family became frightened. "Don't worry, one day this terrible tiger shall be killed, just sleep peacefully and don't let the issue of this tiger trouble your mind," his wife calmed him down. "Okay, I will soon sleep," he promised his wife. The thoughts about the tiger filled his mind. "How am I going to tell the king that I couldn't kill the tiger, he will surely be furious with me. What kind of mysterious creature is this tiger?” These thoughts made him feel much more terrible.

 

  Bob was relaxing under a tree, feeling very happy as he enjoyed a cold breeze. Suddenly the sabertoothed tiger emerged running fiercely towards him and began to run desperately. When he looked back he saw the tiger already grew wings and it was flying. The tiger was about to land on him and he began to shout "help, help, help, tiger, tiger, tiger, tiger….." He woke up as his wife shook him. "What's the matter again with this tiger?" His wife asked sadly? "Nothing, nothing, I was dreaming, " Bob said, breathing heavily. "That's why I told you not to worry yourself about it." "Okay, I will not think about it again”. He couldn't sleep back again, afraid that if he sleeps again, he might see the tiger in his dream. He decided in his mind to visit the king the next day and narrate to him why they couldn't kill the tiger. In the next morning he woke up very early, he told his wife that he is going to the palace to inform the king about what happened concerning the tiger. When the king heard that Bob wants to see him he became excited, thinking that Bob brought the dead body of the sabertoothed tiger to his palace as he had promised him. "Where is the dead body of the tiger?" the king asked eagerly on seeing Bob. This unexpected question startled Bob. "Your Highness what happened was really unfortunate, the sabertoothed tiger has not been killed." "Why?" The king asked surprisingly. Bob narrated to him how he was deserted by his fellow hunters and he had to be the only person who faced the tiger, therefore he couldn't defeat it. He explained how he managed to escape the wrath of the mysterious tiger. The king was very angry and sad after he listened to Bob's explanation. "Are you now trying to tell me that none of you hunters can kill this tiger?" the king asked furiously. "Not so your highness, the tiger is probably the most mysterious creature in this world." Bob pleaded. The king ordered him to go and call the remaining hunters.

  Bob wasted no time, he immediately went to the homes of his fellow hunters to inform them that the king wants to see them immediately in his palace. Clint, Ted, Joe, Tim and Toby all followed him to the palace. The king asked them why they abandoned Bob with the tiger. They defended themselves, claiming that they didn't abandon Bob with the tiger, they affirmed that they all including Bob ran away from the tiger when it appeared to them because the tiger is a mysterious creature with a magic power that scares any hunter from attacking. Bob quickly countered them, "What! When the tiger appeared, you all ran away and I was left alone to face it." They denied Bob's accusation and they continue to argue before the king. "Shut up!" The king thundered "You are all lazy hunters that cannot hunt, you all disappointed me." This angry statement of the king made all of them to keep quiet and the king ordered all of them to leave his palace and never to set their foot again in his palace. They all went home feeling sorry for themselves, particularly Bob. When Bob got home and narrated to his family the king's reaction towards him and how his fellow hunters treated him they all felt sad.

  The sabertoothed tiger continued to ravage the whole community. Most children found it difficult to play outside their homes because of this animal. Even some farmers abandoned their farms because of the evil activities of this tiger. The king couldn't sleep peacefully in his palace because of the fear this creature had created in Sava land. He therefore decided to hold another meeting with his people on what they are going to do to stop this creature. The meeting was held, at the meeting, the king narrated to them how the hunters failed in their mission to kill the tiger and everyone felt very sad. Everyone was attentive and they all reached the conclusion that whenever anyone sees the tiger he or she should shout for help and everyone will come out with their various weapons to fight this tiger. Everyone w
as happy with this decision as they believed that the combined effort of everyone in Sava will put an end to the reign of this tiger. A few days after this meeting, a man was on his way back home from his farm when he heard a strange sound behind him and he looked back beholding the deadly tiger. The man immediately went mad he began to shout, "Help! Help! Tiger! Tiger! Tiger! Tiger! " running from one place to another. Immediately everyone came out with their various weapons to fight the tiger. They became frightened seeing this tiger and it turned to a "who will bell the cat case.” The tiger at the same time stood still, frightened by the crowd of people that surrounded him with various weapons and ran back into the forest. The people felt sorry for their coward behaviour and blamed themselves for not attacking the tiger. They knew that the king would be highly disappointed by their behaviour. The particular man involved was also very furious with the whole crowd for allowing the tiger to escape. They assured themselves that on another occasion they would make sure they kill the tiger.

  It seemed as if the tiger was frightened by this occasion, for about three weeks, the tiger did not show up in Sava. Everyone was very happy and many people began to have free movement, they now felt free to go to their farms, children also felt free to play outside their environment. Among the people who had completely abandoned their farms because of this tiger was Kim and her poor family who lived in a small house. Kim, a young girl of about sixteen years old was extremely happy. The family had suffered from lack of food because of their absence from the farm. She was excited to have a safe journey to the farm with her little brother. Her aged father had been sick, so her mother stayed behind to take care of him. All the crops had become ripened, some almost to rottenness, they harvested as much food as they could and brought home plenty of food. Their parents were very happy. About five days after, Kim decided to go to the farm to bring home little food. On her way out of the farm she could hear a strange sound as she looked around to determine its source. She suddenly saw the tiger running with great speed and she quickly took to her heels with her heart pumping excessively as if she had an heart attack. She couldn't do anything but shout for help but no one was around. Out of her desperation, she climbed a nearby tree which is not so high. She remained on top of the tree forgetting the fact that not only humans are capable of climbing trees as tigers are not an exception. The tiger began to climb before she realized this fact and she immediately jumped down as if jumping down from a small stool. She fell down and rose up immediately and began her race for survival. One will wonder if her body was made of stone as she did not feel any pain when she fell down, but in some circumstances, the fear in you might override other forms of emotion or feeling. The tiger itself quickly climbed down and resumed pursuing this poor girl. Kim increased her space every second. As she was running she rushed into a mass of stones and fell down, but quickly got up, however the large stones prevented her from running. The tiger now had full reign. Kim in her attempt to protect herself, started throwing some of these stones at this tiger which it expertly dodged. There was a large stone beside her which she thought will be her only hope. As the tiger jumped to attack her she summoned all her strength and carried the largest stone available and threw it at it, at same time she fell down. It struck the tiger's head, and the tiger fell down. The tiger continued to struggle on the floor, she gave it no chance to recover as she continued to smash it with large pieces of stones until it showed no signs of life. Feeling triumph, she couldn't believe that she had killed the sabertoothed tiger. She kept watching over the creature which had stopped breathing. Suddenly something startled her, it was a man, she looked up felt frightened and asked him fearfully, "Who are you?" "I was hiding in my farm and I saw what you did, how you killed the tiger, that's very great of you, very great. " The man replied her. "Thanks!" She said quickly and stood up. She didn't know what to say. "I think the king ought to know about what you have done." "The king….?" "Yes, the king will be very happy and everyone will also be glad." “I am going home to my parents to tell them what has happened" "That's good, can I follow you home to see your parents?" "Why? You can't, thank you, nice to meet you....bye, " She started running home. "Wait, why are you running?" The man shouted after her. She didn't wait and she ran home.

  When she got home, she broke the good news to her parents. Her parents did not believe her. "What is the meaning of the nonsense you are saying?" Her mother asked her feeling irritated. Only her little brother believed her and he said, "My sister does not lie, mother." "Okay mother don't worry I will take you and dad to the spot where the dead tiger lies." Her mother refused to follow her as she wondered whether her daughter was still in her right senses. But Kim's father, who had recovered from his illness, prodded her and they all went to the spot. Her parents were surprised beyond expectations. "What! How did you kill this tiger? My daughter, you are the heroine of Sava land. " Her mother said jumping up." The king must know about this, the great thing my daughter has done, " Kim's father said happily. The man had not gone, he was still there with the tiger. He explained to Kim's parents that he was in his farm and he saw how Kim killed the tiger and that their daughter is the most courageous person he has ever seen. " This man had told me before that the king must know about what I have done, " Kim said smiling. Kim's little brother was so happy and he hugged his sister. They all went straight to the palace. They presented the dead body of the tiger to the king. They explained to the king how Kim killed the tiger. The king was totally astounded and he immediately called a meeting of everyone in Sava land. In the meeting, he explained to the whole people what Kim had done and they were all happy and amazed. It is probably the most remarkable event that had happened In Sava land since its existence. The king promised Kim in the presence of everyone that she shall be given half of his property and she and her parents shall be given the privilege to live in the palace. Kim and her family were extremely happy likewise everyone was glad. Kim and her family lived happily in the palace. The death of the sabertoothed tiger did only create happiness among humans. The animals were also joyous that their greatest predator had been killed.