Tibetan Folk Tales | Page 3

an old, old tiger named
Tsuden went out hunting for some food. As he was creeping quietly
along the banks of a stream a frog saw him and was badly scared. He
thought, "This tiger is coming to eat me up." He climbed up on a little
bunch of sod and when the tiger came near, called out, "Hello, where
are you going?"
The tiger answered, "I am going up into the forest to hunt something to
eat. I haven't had any food for two or three days and I am very weak
and hungry. I guess I'll eat you up. You're awfully small, but I can't find
anything else. Who are you, anyway?"
The frog replied, swelling up as big as he could, "I am the king of the
frogs. I can jump any distance and can do anything. Here's a river, let's
see who can jump across."
The tiger answered, "All right," and as he crouched ready to jump, the
frog slipped up and got hold of the end of his tail with his mouth, and
when the tiger jumped he was thrown away up the bank across the river.
After Tsuden got across he turned around and looked and looked into
the river for the frog. But as the tiger turned, the frog let loose of his
tail and said, "What are you looking for, old tiger, down there?"
The tiger whirled quickly, very much surprised to see the frog away up
the bank behind him.
Said the frog, "Now I beat you in that test, let's try another. Suppose we
both vomit." The tiger being empty could only throw up a little water,
but the frog spit up some tiger hair. The tiger much astonished asked,
"How do you happen to be able to do that?" The frog replied, "Oh,
yesterday I killed a tiger and ate him, and these are just a few of the
hairs that aren't yet digested."
The tiger began to think to himself, "He must be very strong. Yesterday
he killed and ate a tiger, and now he has jumped farther than I did over

the river. Guess I'd better slip away before he eats me." Then he sidled
away a little piece, quickly turned and began to run away as fast as he
could, up the mountain.
He met a fox coming down who asked, "What's the matter, why are you
running away so fast?"
"Say," the old tiger said, "I met the king of all the frogs, who is very
strong. Why, he has been eating tigers and he jumped across the river
and landed farther up the bank than I did."
The fox laughed at him and said, "What, are you running away from
that little frog? He is nothing at all. I am only a little fox, but I could
put my foot on him and kill him."
The tiger answered, "I know what this frog can do, but if you think you
can kill him, I'll go back with you. I am afraid you will get frightened
and run away, however, so we must tie our tails together."
So they tied their tails fast in a lot of knots and went down to see the
frog, who still sat on his piece of sod, looking as important as he could.
He saw them coming and called out to the fox, "You're a great fox. You
haven't paid your toll to the king to-day nor brought any meat either. Is
that a dog you've got tied to your tail and are you bringing him for my
dinner?"
Then the tiger was frightened, for he thought the fox was taking him to
the king to be eaten. So he turned and ran and ran as fast as he could go,
dragging the poor fox with him, and if they are not dead, they are still
running to-day.
***
THREE
The Cony Who Got into Bad Company
If you are without kindness, you will meet no kindness in return.

Tibetan Proverb.
ONCE upon a time, a long, long time ago, when the world was young
and new and the mountain tops were all peaks and the garden of Eden
had not been pushed up towards the sky by the big high mountains of
Central Tibet, men and animals understood each other. In a desert place,
away among the mountains, was a little hut of mud and stone, and in
this little hut with its dirt floor dwelt an old Lama. His house
furnishings were very meager. There was a small piece of beaten felt
upon which he slept at night and sat on cross-legged most of the day.
He had no clothing and no covering at night except the one gown that
he wore. He had some baskets of grain and