Ramu and his mother lived in a remote village in a South Indian village. When Ramu was hardly eight years old his father died in an accident. The untimely death of his father forced Ramu to discontinue his studies and his aspiration to become a doctor was shattered. He found a job in a grocery store far away from his village. Very early in the morning he would eat his lukewarm gruel and walk four km through the paddy fields to his workplace.
A man-eating tiger began to terrorise the village. Having strayed from the forest, every night it came into the village searching for humans. Many an unsuspecting villager had fallen prey to the tiger and now the whole village was scared. At sunset, people locked themselves into their houses.
One day, Ramu had to work overtime at the grocery store. By the time he set off for home it was rather late. As he trudged through the paddy fields, the man-eater sensed his presence. It crouched behind a bush and just when Ramu was passing by he pounced on him. Ramu screamed, but the people of the village were too scared to come out and rescue him. Ramu tried to escape from the grip of the tiger but could not.
Realising that there was no chance of escape, he began to plead for his life.
“Uncle Tiger, I am the only son of my widowed mother. She is very sick and I am carrying medicine for her. If you kill me then she'll be alone and there will be nobody to take care of her. At least for her sake, please spare my life. I am sure God will bless you for that.”
But the tiger was hungry, “My young fellow,” he said. “I haven't had a meal in many weeks. You are a godsend. If I release you, I am sure I will die of hunger. So please co-operate and let me relish every bit of your juicy flesh!”
Ramu knew that death was imminent and he had to do something to stay alive.
“Uncle Tiger, I am only a bag of bones. I don't have enough flesh to feed you. Moreover my sharp bones will pierce your stomach. And you will be on your deathbed. If you spare me, I promise, I will provide you with an alternative.”
But the tiger was not moved.
So Ramu continued. “I saw a well-built man standing in the middle of the paddy field. He seemed to be meditating. He was oblivious of all that was happening around him. You can pounce on him from behind and kill him.”
These words convinced the tiger. “Don't run away. Take me to that man,” he told Ramu. As promised, Ramu led the man-eater to the paddy field. They walked together and when they saw a shape loom up in the distance, Ramu pointed it out the tiger. He seemed to be well-built, wearing a panama hat, a coat and trousers. He had long curly hair that escaped from under his hat. The tiger was getting impatient. He ran forward and pounced on the man. But the weight of the tiger broke the ‘man' in two. The ‘man' was actually only a scarecrow! And the pole that held the scarecrow together pierced the tiger and killed him.
When the people of the village heard this, they were overjoyed. Ramu became the village hero.
