Storytelling Week 10: The Tiger and Zebra

Deep in the African heartland lived two families of animals that ruled the land: felidae and equidae, in other words, cats and horses. The cats were made up of ferocious lions, cheetahs and tigers while the horses consisted of beastly horses, zebras and donkeys. The two animals constantly battled for power of the jungle and forests of Africa. While the cat family was quick, fast and mean, the horses were powerful, strong and outnumbered the cat family.

All other animals feared these two families yet respected their leadership. One day, the animals of Africa were arguing about which animal they thought was all around the head animal of Africa. Obviously the animal had to come from the horse or cat animal, but which specific animal? They decided to have a competition testing the animal’s abilities.

The animals created an obstacle course that would test every category of the animal’s abilities and talents. The cats chose the tiger to represent them while the horses chose the zebra as their representative. The golden tiger and white zebra walked to the finish line. When the race began, the two were neck and neck. When the tiger struggled in the race, the zebra would do well and vice verses.

(Tiger)

As the two animals geared up for the last part of the competition, they were deep in the forest where no one could see them. Extremely tired, the two decided to take a short break. Catching their breath and drinking water, the two animals pondered on what it would be like if they tied and ruled Africa together.

Both animals were very tired and didn’t know if they would finish the competition so the two agreed to finish the race together. To show their unity, they found some blackberries and mashed them up. They used the berries to paint stripes on each other. When the two saw the finish line, they made their final strides across the finish line together.

The other animals were fascinated by the two animal’s stripes and respected their unity together. The horse family and cat family came together and comprised to rule the forest and jungle together.

This is why the zebra and tiger have stripes.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: This story is based on the Great Plains myth Rabbit and Deer. In the story, the author explains how the deer earns his antlers. The original story shows the rabbit as a mean character. I wanted my story to have a better message and bring friendship and unity to the forest.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Title: Myths and Legends of the Great Plains 

Author: Katharine Berry Judson

Year: 1913