Of Tigers and Cows

The wild bull was a rare specimen. She possessed all characteristics of a cow, but had big horns and could fight like a bull.  She rarely ever used her force, but was known as a fierce slayer when she lost her temper. No one ever thought of her as a cow, but every animal found her irresistible. 


She was everything a tiger wanted – an equal partner - beautiful, smart and strong, with a good disposition. The only thing he disliked in her was her stubborn nature. No matter how hard he tried to act like a domesticated love cat, one day he got angry at the bull and bit her. Fuming, but holding back further aggression, he ran away feeling that he could not prevent the inevitable.

The bull was hurt. She stood in the middle of her abandoned home, wondering what she did to deserve such treatment. The tiger left an open gash right between her ribs. But it was not the pain from her open wound that bothered her; it was the throbbing ache in her heart that led her away from home. She did not fear the return of the tiger, nor did she anticipate that he might regret his actions; she only wanted to leave the place in which everything reminded her of the tiger and his callous deed. 

She walked down an empty road in search for a suitable place to heal her wounds. She wondered for a while, until she came upon an old tiger by the name of Scorpion. No one knew how he got that name, but he was well known for being treacherous. 

“Not another one”, thought the bull. 

Scorpion immediately felt the smell of fresh blood. His instinct stirred inside him like an angry cloud. He slowly approached the bull, but sensed her apprehension just in time. The bull was not interested in getting bit again and lowered her horns in anticipation of a new attack.

“Relax”, said Scorpion with pride. “I have enough self respect not to fight a bull, especially one wounded by another tiger”. 

The bull raised her head, but did not change her stance.

“Don’t tell me, I can smell the work of Fish. Only he could bite a chunk off and walk away without finishing the kill. But don’t worry, he’ll be back.”

“He won’t”, answered the bull with anguish in her voice.

“Fear not, he shall return”, with confidence rebuked the old tiger. He hated to be doubted and quickly changed the subject: “I think you could use some cheering up.”

“I could”, agreed the bull.

“Tell me, what do you call a sleeping bull?”

“Dinner?” asked the bull sensing a hoax.

“No! A bulldozer!” – exclaimed the tiger with laughter.

The bull smiled politely, but was not amused.

“Let me tell you another joke: Two guys are on duty at a French Foreign Legion fort. One says to the other one, ‘See that camel over there? I'll bet you I can make him jump 30 feet in the air.’ 
The other guy says ‘no way.’ 
So, the first guy walks around to the back of the camel with two bricks. Reaches in between the camel's legs and crashes the bricks together. Camel jumps 30 feet in the air. 
A couple of days later the first guy says to the second guy. I bet you I can make that camel nod his head yes. 
The second guy says, ‘You got me last time. But there's no way you can make that dumb animal nod his head yes.’
The first guy takes the same two bricks, walks around to the front of the camel, holds up the bricks and says, ‘Remember me?’. 
The camel nods.....”

“Good one”, smiled the bull earnestly. 

“I’ve got a better one for you” - and the tiger continued to tell jokes until she laughed out loud and forgot about her heart ache. After a while, the laugh made her side hurt again and she decided that she’s had enough of the tiger’s jokes. She thanked him for his kindness and slowly walked home.

As she walked, her disposition changed and she was ready to forgive Fish for his attack, if only he apologized. She was not mistaken - he was waiting for her at the doorstep.

“Where did you go?” - He asked under pretense of curiously.

“Nowhere”, responded the bull.

“I should not have left like that”, said the tiger making an attempt at peace.

“No, you should not have,” agreed she.

“So, where were you?” The tiger inquired again.

“I walked around”.

“On your own?” He pried.

“Yes, I wanted to be alone.”

“It took you a while.”

“I needed time to get over it.”

“But you were not alone,” the tiger probed again. 

“Why ask, if you already know where I was,” proudly retorted the bull.

“I don’t know”.

“I know you don’t,” she said with a coquettish smile.

And so it went for a few minutes: the tiger continued unceremoniously questioning the bull and got angrier with every question she dogged. Finally, the bull got tired of playing the game and gave in: 

“I ran into Scorpion”

“That old fart! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I don’t know. I did not want to hurt your feelings,” admitted the bull.

“Hurt my feelings! Why would it have hurt my feelings? It’s not like you are having an affair with him. Are you?” – he asked under one breath. 

“Of course not”, the bull pacified him.

“Then why did you lie to me?” he pressed.

“I did not want you to get upset”, she answered honestly.

“I am not upset”, he almost yelled.

“You are”.

“I am not upset that you spent time with Scorpion, I am upset you lied to me about it”, he shrieked softly.

“What does it matter?” She asked defensively.

“It matters because it is not the first time. You never tell me where you go or what you are doing and if you are going to lie about little things, how am I supposed to trust you?” - the tiger bellowed. He could no longer stand the sight of her wound; the smell of her blood intoxicated him. He felt a force rising inside that made him want to jump on the bull with vehemence. 

The bull did not answer, but lowered her head and looked at him, trying to estimate the depth of his anger. They stood looking at each other for a few moments: tiger panting and fuming at the mouth and the bull with lowered horns, but not moving an inch. Finally, she thought better of it and walked away.

“You are a stubborn bull”, said tiger in frustration.

“And I am not going to change”, she snapped.

The tiger struggled to hold back his rage and slowly pronounced in a dignified voice: 

“You lied to me. I can no longer believe you, so I cannot stay”.

“I am sorry I lied to you. But if you leave now, I will never let you back in”, sternly pronounced the bull. She looked Fish in the eye with a challenging stare.

“I can find plenty of other cows to lie to me," he responded with a quivering jaw: 

His words pierced her heart like a hunter’s knife.  Without saying a word, she stormed away, slamming the door.

She did not cry.  She thought for a while about what happened.  She could not believe that her domesticated tiger turned out to be a wild beast. 

“I should have expected it”, she concluded and added: “he never even apologized.”