Here is another instalment from my silly animal stories. I hope you like it. Please let me know what you think.
Tom the Timid Tiger
Tom lived in the jungles of India. Every morning he went hunting. He was very good at stalking and never had any problems getting close to his prey. However, he was often too afraid to catch large animals. They simply scared him. He usually ended up with a bird or small mammal, which didn't really fill him up, so he had to go hunting several times a day, and by the end of the day he was really tired.
The other tigers in the jungle were a lot braver and they called Tom the Timid Tiger. Tom was very embarrassed by that and knew he had to change something if he didn't want to go to bed every night very tired and still half hungry.
One day Tom woke up with confidence. He decided that it was time he would no longer be shy and timid. From now on hee would be brave and bold. Today he would hunt the largest gaur he could find. Tonight he would go to bed with a full stomach and a chest full of pride. It was going to be the start of a new Tom. From today onwards he would be known as Tom the Tenacious Tiger.
So Tom got up, cleaned himself and made for a clearing where he knew would be a great many antilopes. There it would be easy to find a really big specimen and hunt her. Tom felt really excited and much braver than before. He raised his head high as he approached the clearing. As he expected, in the clearing there were great number of animals and in particular a nice group of large gaur. He scanned the animals and found a particularly large one that he decided to hunt.
He slowly walked along the perimeter of the clearing to find a good place for an ambush. The animals hadn't noticed him. He carefully placed one paw in front of the other to avoid making a noise, and the while he kept his eyes on the group of animals drinking from the water or cleaning themselves. He had picked out those that were on sentry duty and made sure he was downwind from them. Everything was going to plan.
Tom was ready for the attack. He crouched down and took a few moments to look around, listen for any strange noises and sniff the air for any unusual scents. It seemed the coast was still clear. The sentry animals looked relaxed and the whole group of gaur was calm and composed. It would be the perfect hunt.
Tom had to make his attack. The moment was perfect and the longer he waited, the more the risk of being discovered increased. However, Tom suddenly felt a small nagging feeling. His confidence seemed to slowly seep away. He thought about those beautiful animals in front of him. How strong they were and how fast they could run. He worried that he might not be able to catch them after all, or that he might get hurt during the hunt. He thought that other tigers might be watching him and tease him even more if he failed today. It was becoming too much, and instead of crouching down ready to jump, Tom was now actually just lying down, like a cat ready for a cuddle.
Suddenly Tom heard a roar from the distance. It was from another tiger who was clearly approaching the clearing. Tom had to do something. This was his clearing and he was not going to give it up. He jumped up and started his attack on the gaur. It took the animals a good few seconds before they realized what was happening, but by then it was too late. Tom was among them and had already brought down one of the gaur. It wasn't the biggest of the group, but it was still a good catch and would feed him for a good few days.
As Tom was reaching the end of his attack, he saw the other tiger standing by the edge of clearing, clearly impressed by what he saw. The other tiger gave a little nod to Tom and then quickly ran away back into the jungle.
Tom had done it. He had overcome his fear and he had protected his territory at the same time. He was really proud of himself and rightly so. From that day on, Tom was getting more and more confident. He still had days when he was too afraid to hunt large animals, but he was definitely getting better, and after only a few weeks the other tigers in the jungle had started calling him Tom the Tenacious Tiger, just as he had hoped. Tom lived in the jungles of India. Every morning he went hunting. He was very good at stalking and never had any problems getting close to his prey. However, he was often too afraid to catch large animals. They simply scared him. He usually ended up with a bird or small mammal, which didn't really fill him up, so he had to go hunting several times a day, and by the end of the day he was really tired.
The other tigers in the jungle were a lot braver and they called Tom the Timid Tiger. Tom was very embarrassed by that and knew he had to change something if he didn't want to go to bed every night very tired and still half hungry.
One day Tom woke up with confidence. He decided that it was time he would no longer be shy and timid. From now on hee would be brave and bold. Today he would hunt the largest gaur he could find. Tonight he would go to bed with a full stomach and a chest full of pride. It was going to be the start of a new Tom. From today onwards he would be known as Tom the Tenacious Tiger, just as he had hoped.
No comments:
Post a Comment