The Pregnant Women and the Tiger- A Naga Folktale

 The Pregnant Women and the Tiger

 One day a pregnant woman went to a forest to collect wild raspberries. As she reached the place, she saw a tiger. Since she could not climb the tree she asked they tiger to help her but the tiger refused. Since she was craving for the fruit she promised to give her child to the tiger when she delivered. The tiger accepted her offer. She went home happily after satisfying herself.

               After a month the women gave birth and the tiger came to take the baby. Whenever the tiger came, the women hid the baby in a basket so that the tiger would not see it. When the child grew, the mother started weaving shawls and her husband started weaving baskets. They would cry everyday while weaving  since they were about to give away their daughter to the tiger. Whenever the child asked why they were crying the two would answer, "It is because of weaving shawls and her husband making baskets". As soon as they finished weaving they took her to the tiger with the shawl and the basket.

         When she slept with the tiger, the tiger's beard poked her and she felt uncomfortable. She was not able to sleep peacefully. One fine day, she met a wild cat. She narrated her story. The wild cat told her that he would drop husk to show her the path to reach home. At dawn when she woke up, she found a line made with husk. She came out quietly and followed the line and it led to her home. She knocked on the door and called out to her parents to open the door for her, but they replied, "Our daughter is no more, even her bones will be no more. She shouted. 'Mother, please open the door, I am your daughter, But she said, 'Don't cheat us. Our daughter is no more in this world'. Soon the tiger came looking for her and she cried out, ' Mom, the tiger is coming. When the tiger was about to catch the child, the mother opened the door but it was too late. The tiger caught the child by the leg and the mother caught the child's head. They both pulled the child as if playing tug of war. While pulling the child's body was torn into two. The mother got the head and the tiger the leg. She thought to herself, 'Since my child was living with the tiger it has become a wild animal. With this in mind, she cooked and ate her daughter's flesh. But the tiger went home sad and buried the leg. After the burial, the tiger killed a deer and gave a meal to the animals in honor of the child.