The Woodcutter and the Tiger

(adapted from the Korean Story “The Woodcutter and the Tiger)
by Kier Anthony G. Boydon

One there was a woodcutter who lives near a forest together with his mother. They
were living a simple and happy life. Every morning the woodcutter would go to the forest to
gather woods which he will sell to the nearby town.

Woodcutter : “Good morning, mother. I will go now to the forest.”

Mother : (coughing) “Take care, son.”

Woodcutter : “Are you feeling well, mother? You look sick and tired!”

Mother : (still coughing) “Don’t worry about me son. Go now.”

The woodcutter went to the woods and started gathering lumbers. It was afternoon
when he heard someone calling his name…

Man : “Mr. Woodcutter! Mr. Woodcutter!”

Woodcutter : “Hey! I’m here (dropping his axe). What is the problem, sir?”

Man : “Your… your mother! She was brought to the town clinic!”

Woodcutter : “What? What happened to her?”

Man : “Mother said that she saw her faint while sweeping your front yard.”

Woodcutter : “Thank you! I will go now to the town clinic.”

So the woodcutter went straight to the town clinic. Inside the clinic, the woodcutter’s
mother was lying on a bed together with the town healer.

Mother : (talking weakly) “Where… where is my son? I want to see my son.”

Healer : “I’m sure he’s on the way. Please, rest.”

Mother : (coughing) “I need to talk to my son. I think I can’t make it anymore.”

Healer : “Here, drink this tea. It will make you well.”

(Mother will drink the tea. The woodcutter will enter the room.)

Woodcutter : “Mother! Mother! (kneeling beside his mother)”

Healer : “Your mother was brought here by your neighbours. She was coughing
violently.”

Mother : (still coughing) “Son, is that you? Ohh, it’s you!”

Woodcutter : “Yes, mother. I’m here.”

Mother : (talking weakly) “I’m sorry, son. I won’t be able to take care of you anymore.
Please, promise me that you will take care of yourself and that you will stay
safe. Promise me, okay?”

Woodcutter : (crying) “Yes, mother. I promise.”

Mother : “Very well.” (She smiled and closed her eyes. The woodcutter will hug her
mother’s dead body)

A year had passed after the woodcutter’s mother passed away. The woodcutter was
living alone, still making a living by gathering woods and selling them. One fine morning, an
unlikely event will happen in the forest.

Woodcutter : (busy chopping woods)

Tiger : “Hey, hey, hey! What do we have here?” (roars)

Woodcutter : (surprised by the tiger’s roar) “Ahhhh!”

Tiger : “That’s right! I want to hear you screaming before I eat you for lunch!” (laughs)

Woodcutter : (thinking of a way to escape the tiger)

Tiger : “Thinking of a way to escape? (laughs) You cannot escape! I am fast! I am

strong! I can catch you with my big paws and sharp claws!”

Woodcutter : “No, I don’t want to escape. In fact, I would like to ask you something.”

Tiger : “Ask now! For later you will be my lunch!”

Woodcutter : (pretends to be thinking) You look strangely familiar Mr. Tiger!

(tiger gave a puzzled expression)

Woodcutter : (pretends to remember something) Ohhh! Now I remember! You look like my
long lost brother! (He went nearer to the tiger as if inspecting its face) No! You
are my long lost brother! (hugs the tiger)
Tiger : “Wait! What are you saying? That I am your brother? Are you crazy?”

Woodcutter : “No. You see, we were separated when we were still a child. One day, you saw
a deer running to the woods. You followed the deer alone. Mother and I went
looking for you day and night, but we failed to find you.”

Tiger : (trying to remember the details) “Hmmmm. I think I remember that I followed a
deer once.”

Woodcutter : “Yes! (He exclaimed silently and went back to his drama) We gave up after
months of looking for you. We thought that you are dead but here you are: big,
strong, and proud!”

Tiger : (He was convinced that he is the woodcutter’s brother.) “Ohhh, brother! I
almost ate you! I’m so sorry! (cries and hugs the woodcutter) By the way, where
is mother? I want to see her! I missed her so much!”

Woodcutter : “Mother just passed away. She went sick frequently after we lost you. I took
care of her by selling woods in the town. But, last year (took out a handkerchief
and pretends to cry) she passed away.”

Tiger : (cries) “Ohh, I am very sad to hear that. (cries aloud) Thank you for taking care
of mother. I am sad because I wasn’t able to take care of her. I should build her a
shrine in her grave and honor her. Thank you, brother. I am so glad you found
me.”

Woodcutter : “You’re welcome, my brother.

And so, the woodcutter bid farewell to the tiger. On his way home, the woodcutter was
laughing aloud thinking how he cleverly deceived the tiger. However, the tiger really believed
that the woodcutter was his long lost brother. The next week, the woodcutter went to his
mother’s grave to bring offerings. On the grave, he saw a very familiar image sitting at the front
of her mother’s grave. It was the tiger.

Tiger : “Mother, I have brought you some forest fruits. I am very sorry that I left home
and chase that deer. Maybe it was my fault that you fell ill. I am really sorry. I
promise that I will honor you as long as I live.”

The tiger left the grave. The woodcutter was speechless upon hearing the tiger. Since
that day, the grave of the woodcutter’s mother had an offering: a boar, a pheasant, or even his
mother’s favourite mountain berries. One year, the woodcutter noticed that the offering
stopped appearing at his mother’s grave and he wondered what happened.
Woodcutter : “Hmmm… I wonder what happened why the tiger stopped giving offerings.
(thinking) Oh no! Maybe he figured out that it was just a lie! Maybe he was
hunting me! I should get going!”

(he was about to go when three baby tigers appeared)

Baby tiger 1 : “Hello, sir.”

Woodcutter : “Why, hello little tigers. What brought you here?”

Baby tiger 2 : “We are here to bring offerings.”

Woodcutter : “You are bringing offerings to my mother’s grave?”

Baby tiger 3 : “You’re mother? So, that means you are our uncle?” (the three tigers cheered)

Woodcutter : (thinking of something to respond) “Uhhmm, well, uhhhhh…”

Baby tiger 1 : “Father Tiger has said that he has a human brother.”

Baby tiger 2 : “We are bringing these offerings to our grandmother’s grave to honor her.

Woodcutter : “Yes, I am your uncle. By the way, we is your father?”

Baby tiger 3 : “Father Tiger is gone now. However, we know how important it is for her to
honour grandmother by bringing offering to her grave. We are here to bring
offerings for our grandmother in loving memory of our mother.”

Woodcutter : (cries) “Thank you. Thank you for honouring my mother. I should build a shrine
here for brother Tiger. That way we can honor them together.”

So, the woodcutter built a shrine for the tiger. He adopted the three baby tigers and
together, they gave honor to his mother and the tiger that had become a part, not only of his
family, but also of his life.

THE END