Good One - III

[Guest guest]

"'Please, Father, think of me as tiger tamer and

never as tiger killer. How could my good actions bring

ill upon me? I beg you not to impose any command that

I change my way of life.'"<br>Chandi and I were all

attention, understanding the past dilemma. In India a child

does not lightly disobey his parents' wishes.<br>"In

stoic silence Father listened to my explanation. He

followed it with a disclosure which he uttered

gravely.<br>"'Son, you compel me to relate an ominous prediction

from the lips of a saint. He approached me yesterday

as I sat on the veranda in my daily

meditation.<br>"'"Dear friend, I come with a message for your

belligerent son. Let him cease his savage activities.

Otherwise, his next tiger-encounter shall result in his

severe wounds, followed by six months of deathly

sickness. He shall then forsake his former ways and become

a monk."'<br>"This tale did not impress me. I

considered that Father had been the credulous victim of a

deluded fanatic."<br>The Tiger Swami made this confession

with an impatient gesture, as though at some

stupidity. Grimly silent for a long time, he seemed

oblivious of our presence. When he took up the dangling

thread of his narrative, it was suddenly, with subdued

voice.<br>"Not long after Father's warning, I visited the

capital city of Cooch Behar. The picturesque territory

was new to me, and I expected a restful change. As

usual everywhere, a curious crowd followed me on the

streets. I would catch bits of whispered

comment:<br>"'This is the man who fights wild tigers.'<br>"'Has he

legs, or tree-trunks?'<br>"'Look at his face! He must

be an incarnation of the king of tigers

himself!'<br>"You know how village urchins function like final

editions of a newspaper! With what speed do the even-later

speech-bulletins of the women circulate from house to house!

Within a few hours, the whole city was in a state of

excitement over my presence.<br>"I was relaxing quietly in

the evening, when I heard the hoofbeats of galloping

horses. They stopped in front of my dwelling place. In

came a number of tall,turbaned policemen.<br>"I was

taken aback. 'All things are possible unto these

creatures of human law,' I thought. 'I wonder if they are

going to take me to task about matters utterly unknown

to me.' But the officers bowed with unwonted

courtesy.<br>"'Honored Sir, we are sent to welcome you on behalf of the

Prince of Cooch Behar. He is pleased to invite you to

his palace tomorrow morning.'<br>"I speculated awhile

on the prospect. For some obscure reason I felt

sharp regret at this interruption in my quiet trip. But

the suppliant manner of the policemen moved me; I

agreed to go.<br>"I was bewildered the next day to be

obsequiously escorted from my door into a magnificent coach

drawn by four horses. A servant held an ornate umbrella

to protect me from the scorching sunlight. I enjoyed

the pleasant ride through the city and its woodland

outskirts. The royal scion himself was at the palace door to

welcome me. He proffered his own gold-brocaded seat,

smilingly placing himself in a chair of simpler

design.<br>"'All this politeness is certainly going to cost me

something!' I thought in mounting astonishment. The prince's

motive emerged after a few casual remarks.<br>"'My city

is filled with the rumor that you can fight wild

tigers with nothing more than your naked hands. Is it a

fact?'<br>"'It is quite true.'<br>"'I can scarcely believe it!

You are a Calcutta Bengali, nurtured on the white

rice of city folk. Be frank, please; have you not been

fighting only <br>spineless, opium-fed animals?' His voice

was loud and sarcastic, tinged with provincial

accent.<br>"I vouchsafed no reply to his insulting question.