Once upon a time, on a high mountain, a large and mighty tiger roamed freely. Proud and fearless, it considered itself the ruler of the forest, unchallenged by anything in the world. One freezing winter night, its stomach growling with hunger, the tiger decided to sneak into a nearby village in search of food. Following the scent of livestock, it crept toward a small house, hoping for an easy meal.
As the tiger approached the window, it overheard a baby crying inside. The mother soothed her child, saying, “Hush now, look, a bear is standing right outside!” The tiger froze in surprise. “She knows I’m here?” it thought. But the baby continued to wail. The mother tried again: “Quiet now, a fierce tiger is right outside!” The tiger’s eyes widened in shock. “She knows I am a tiger! But why isn’t the baby afraid of me?” Slowly, unease crept into the tiger’s mind, for it sensed the child’s bravery.
Finally, the mother said softly, “Look, here is a dried persimmon.” Immediately, the baby fell silent, not a single cry escaping. The tiger shivered in terror. “Oh no! The ‘Dried Persimmon’ must be a terrifying and cruel monster! It is far scarier than any bear or tiger. Just the sound of its name stops the baby from crying!”
At that very moment, a thief sneaked into the livestock pen, moving through the dimly lit yard. Mistaking the tiger for a fat cow, he jumped onto its back, holding on tightly. The tiger panicked, thinking, “I’m done for! The Dried Persimmon is on my back ready to eat me!” In a blind frenzy, it bolted out of the village, racing across fields and hills, desperately trying to shake the “monster” off. The thief, now realizing he was riding a tiger, clung even tighter in sheer terror.
As dawn broke, the thief spotted a low tree branch, grabbed it, and climbed to safety. The tiger, feeling the sudden loss of weight on its back, did not dare look back. It dashed straight into the deep forest, thinking, “That was horrifying! I just escaped the Dried Persimmon. Never again will I come near that cursed persimmon!” From that day forward, the tiger stayed far away from villages where dried persimmons were known to hang.
This story humorously teaches that fear can sometimes be based on imagination rather than reality, and even the bravest can be humbled by unexpected circumstances.