The King Of The Jungle

There was a secluded forest island that was surrounded by sea. The animals in this forest had never stepped foot out of the island.  One day, a Bobcat passed by the island after delivering goods requested by his master. He was curious about this forested island and decided to anchor his boat to explore.

As he ventured deeper into the forest, he reached a small clearing that seemed like a village. Soon, every villager stepped out to check out this stranger who had entered their island. They had never seen a Bobcat nor a Tiger. However, they had heard how magnificent the tiger was as he was crowned the forest king.

Everyone crowded around Bobcat and stared at him. Finally, Elder Owl came. He was the oldest and wisest animal in the forest, and everyone respected him. He approached Bobcat and scrutinise him for a while. Suddenly, he broke the silence and said, “This is tiger king. Welcome to our forest, tiger king!”

Everyone cheered. Bobcat was taken aback. However, he secretly enjoyed the attention he received.

“Thank you, everyone.  Please take care of me!” The Bobcat replied.

“Yes, my king, that is what we should do!” All the animals said in unison.

Overnight, the Bobcat became the king of the forest. Every day, he was treated just like a real king. He stayed at the best place in the woods with good light and shade. The Rabbit presented fruits while the fox served meats.  It was a really luxurious life.

One day, a curious mouse who happened to read a book on the mighty tiger realised that the picture and description of a tiger seemed different from the appearance of the Bobcat. He asked cautiously: “My lord, as far as we know, Tigers are tall and mighty, but you seemed…”

The Bobcat yelled, “How dare you disrespect me!”

He then pointed to a big rock on the ground outside and asked the mouse, “What is that?”

“Stone.” The mouse replied.

The Bobcat then pointed to another small pebble and asked, “What about that?”

“It’s also a stone.” The mouse replied.

“That’s not right!” Bobcat snarled, “There are big and small stones. Of course, there will also have big and small tigers! Big rocks are rocks, small rocks are also rocks; a tiger with a big body is a tiger, a tiger with a small body is also a tiger!”

“Whether big or small rocks, the rocks are hard. Tigers are also capable, no matter how big or small they are!” added the Bobcat.

“Sorry, my lord. Please don’t be angry!” The mouse begged for mercy. Knowing that the mouse was genuinely convinced by him, he dismissed this incident.

A few days later, the fox caught a fish and sent it to Bobcat. The Bobcat drooled when he saw the fish and gobbled it quickly. The fox looked at the Bobcat and said, “My lord, I heard that cats like to eat fish like you, but tigers still prefer meat. Why are you…”    

The Bobcat retort: “Oh, I used to live on an island for a while, where there were less meat and more fish. Over time, I have developed a habit of eating fish.”   

“In that case, I will catch more fish for you, my king!” 

The following day, the Bobcat went out to play “Catch” with the animals. While hiding from his “Catcher”, the Bobcat instinctively jumped from one big tree to the other to avoid being caught.

The animals were surprised and said: “My lord, we only heard that cats have this ability, but tigers don’t have…”

The Bobcat shrieked: “I learned all my skills while I lived on an island. There are no tigers that have my skills yet. Only with a body like me can I achieve this ability!”

“You are so talented, my lord!” the animal cheered, impressed by the Bobcat’s skill.

However, one day, a real tiger came to the forest. When Bobcat saw the tiger, he was terrified and fled as fast as possible.

The animals were astonished at Bobcat’s hasty disappearance and wondered about his strange behaviour. Finally, they understood why. The wise owl had also made a mistake!

The End.