The Tiger and the Brahmin

Story

A tiger is thrown into a pit by the villagers he has been menacing. When a Brahmin stops to talk to him, the tiger persuades the man to let him out of the pit and promises not to eat him. As soon as he is out he pounces on the man. He offers the Brahmin the chance to come up with a good reason why he shouldn’t eat him. The Brahmin asks a tree, the donkey and the road but none can help until a jackal passes and proves himself to be as good a trickster as the tiger.

Why we chose it

The Tiger and the Brahmin was one of the stories chosen by Geraldine McCaughrean for our World Stories project with St Ebbes School in 2016. The stories were represented on fabric hangings made by artist Ally Baker which can still be found hanging in the museum.

Where it came from

The story is from the Panchatantra, a collection animal parables first written down in about 300BCE. The connected stories are told as if to teach three foolish princes how to conduct their lives wisely.

Where it went next

It was one of the stories retold by Joseph Jacobs in Indian Fairy Tales (1912) and Geraldine McCaughrean included a version called A Tiger Tale in Animal Tails (2016)

Associated stories

A number of the stories from the Panchatantra are still told today. The most popular include The Monkey and the Crocodile, The Loyal Mongoose, The Cap Seller and the Monkeys, The Foolish Lion and the Clever Rabbit and The Turtle Who Wanted To Fly.