Don't Judge A Tiger By It's Stripes

Don't Judge A Tiger By It's Stripes

By Valerie A. Gruber

Deep in the jungle behind the trees and thick vegetation  lived a tiger named Tia. Tia's belly was big and round. She was about to become a mother tiger.

One day, Tia felt very peculiar . She ran home to her den as fast as lightning and none of her friends could find her. When they came to see if she was okay, they found a big surprise!

Tia was a mommy now! She had three fluffy tiger cubs lying in her den. All of Tia's jungle friends came to see the new baby tigers. One by one the new baby cubs marched out of the den.

The first cub to come out of the den was Tom. His fur was bright orange and his stripes were wide . Tom greeted the crowd with a happy roar. "What a handsome little tiger!" said Champ the Chimpanzee.

Next came Tim. His fur was dark orange and his stripes were thin. He greeted the crowd with a great leap in the air. "What a handsome little tiger!" said Leo the Leopard.

Everyone waited for the third cub to appear. Finally, Theo poked his head out of the den but something was different. Theo had no stripes! "What a strange looking tiger!" said Eric the Elephant. The crowd frowned and left the den. Theo was puzzled . 

Weeks passed by and Theo still had no stripes. His brothers teased him and the other animals laughed when he walked near them.

"A tiger with no stripes? He looks ridiculous !" said Sal the Snake. Theo heard this and ran hom to his mother crying.

"Mama, where are my stripes? I want to be like everybody else!" cried Theo.

His mother smiled and said, "Theo, you are rare . You do not need stripes to make friends. One day the others will see just how unique you are."

"But how?" cried Theo.

Theo's mother told him to be patient  and to go back outside with the others. He did not believe her but he decided to return to the lake where the others were playing. When he arrived at the lake, he noticed a peculiar man hiding in the bushes with a net in his hand.

Suddenly the man sprang from the bushes and began to chase the others. "HELP!" they screamed as they ran towards Theo.

Theo knew he had to help the others even though they had been so mean to him. He called them over to his hiding spot behind a log. Together they all waited for the man to go away.

When the man came close to the log, Theo jumped out from behind the log and let out a huge roar! The man dropped his net and ran away out of the jungle as fast as he could.

"Wow Theo, you are so brave! We are all sorry for making fun of you for the way you look. Even though you do not have stripes, you are a great friend" said the cubs.

Theo smiled an enormous smile from ear to ear. He ran home to tell his mother the great news.

Theo told his mother about the peculiar  man in the jungle and how he saved his friends from being caught in the net.

Theo's mother said, "That is wonderful, Theo. Being a good person on the inside is so much more important than the way you look on the outside."

Theo was so elated  that he would be able to play with the others. He curled up next to his mother and quietly fell asleep. The next time he would come out of his den, nobody would make fun of him.