Release the Tiger Read online

  Mia knew Panda might have been crying for the woman who raised her by herself in a flat, the lonely woman. Panda might have been crying for the woman who took her for a walk early in the morning, before she went to work, wearing only a nightgown and slippers. A motorcycle appeared from nowhere and hit her. She was lying there on the road, injured. People gathered. Someone called an ambulance. The siren went off. The ambulance stopped, and two men came out. They took the woman away, and Panda was left all alone. She has been crying ever since, every time she heard a siren.

  The Silent Whistle

  Panda too told Mia not to be afraid. Mia took the key and opened Leo's cage. For a moment, she thought she heard the circus manageress snort, but it was only a horse. How lucky. A sound came from the bushes. Chai was approaching. Panda barked. Who can it be? Was it the headhunter? Was it the bodybuilder? Was it the elephant trainer? They all might stop her, take her key, and lock Leo up forever. Mia stood still. The animals kept quiet. They were tense. Whoever it was, they didn't stop. So Leo went out of the cage and led the way. Mia followed him. Panda and Chai were right behind her. Mia was careful not to make too much noise with her shoes. She wished she could walk barefoot like the animals, but the path was covered with stones and splinters, and she had to wear shoes. They sneaked through a hole in the fence behind the trailers to an open field. Mia thought it was a good way for children who couldn’t buy tickets to sneak in. She thought about letting them know, but there was no time.

  The field led to a mountain, and the mountain led to a valley. It was the valley behind Block 7. Mia knew it well. She knew the cave that was hidden behind the big boulders and vegetation. She led the tiger, panda, and crazy Chai to the cave.

  They entered the cave and for a few moments stood there in silence.

  "Where did you get this cool whistle from?" asked Leo the tiger.

  "It was a gift from my parents," answered Mia with a smile. "They knew I loved animals. They agreed to let me adopt Panda, and then Chai. Not many parents do that. My parents took me and Panda to a dog trainer, who talked to the dogs using this whistle." Mia's eyes lit up. She was thrilled. "He whistled many tunes and taught them many things."

  "I know all about taming," said Leo. "It's not our language. It's the language of humans."

  "I use this silent whistle as a secret language. It's not really the animal's language, but at least people can't hear it."

  "It's a nice compromise," agreed Leo.

  Mia told him about the dance she's leading every day with the silent whistle. "I want to join you. I want to dance with the dogs and cats and cockroaches," said Leo.

  Leo's eyes were pleading. He wanted so much to spend time with her. He wanted a family. He wanted a mother and father and neighbors. He was willing to live under Mia's bed, if she would only let him. But Mia said,

  "Leo, most people are afraid of tigers. I don't think they'll accept you." She was smiling at him. "No, Leo, you can’t stay at my house. You need to be free; you need to run in the fields and mountains."

  The Boy Who Came to the Backyard

  It was almost dark. Mia led her little entourage deeper into the valley behind Block 7. Without noticing, they got closer to her house. It was dark and unpleasant. There were no children there. It was cold and windy, and the jackals were howling in a distance.

  Suddenly Mia saw Jonathan. What was he doing there? He was sitting there, dreaming, playing with a twig, and drawing circles in the air and on the ground. His back was arched. He seemed so lonely. Mia felt sorry for him. Jonathan saw her and came running quickly. When he saw the tiger he froze.

  "Don’t be afraid, Jonathan. Leo is my friend. He won't hurt you."

  "Are you sure? He looks a little hungry..."

  "Don't worry," said Mia.

  "I believe you. I know you talk to the animals."

  Jonathan sat down next to Mia. Something was still bothering him.

  "What's wrong?"

  "I woke up and felt sad," said Jonathan. "It happened just like you said it would."

  "Your girlfriend disappointed you?" asked Mia, although she knew the answer.

  "Yes," he replied.

  "I am sorry," she said sincerely.

  "I don't care. I forgot all about her. I’m sad because no one wants to play with me. I don't know why," he choked. "I've done nothing wrong."

  "I can tell you a secret that might help you understand," said Mia.

  Mia began teaching Jonathan how to read expressions and body language and compare people to animals. He was so enchanted that he did not notice how his tongue dropped from his mouth, like an animal trying to escape its cage made of teeth. When eventually he did notice, he closed his mouth tightly, as if he were trying to tame his tongue. Mia finished, and Jonathan began laughing. His laughter was so infectious everyone else was also laughing and didn't even know why.

  "I thought about Jacob, the thug that keeps bullying me. He snorts just like a pig."

  They could tell Jonathan was feeling much better. When he stopped laughing he said, "The girl I wanted to take to the circus... she was always pecking me, like a tiny bird."

  Bad Friends, Good Friends

  "It reminds me of a story I heard from my grandmother," Mia told Jonathan. "I don't remember all the details, but she said something about the bad friends and good friends you find in nature. For example, the shark and the sardines are good friends, even though he's huge and they are tiny and have weak teeth."

  "How can they be good friends?" wondered Jonathan. "The shark swallows little fish. He's so strong nobody can escape his jaws."

  "Yeah, but he does have one small problem..." Mia tried to explain. But Jonathan went on, "What kind of a problem can a strong shark have?"

  "He can't brush his teeth."

  "Hmmm... I never thought of that."

  "He can get tooth decay and lose all his teeth. Did you ever have a toothache?"

  "You bet! It was awful. I will never forget it."

  "What did you do?"

  "I went to the dentist."

  "What can a shark do? He can't get out of the sea and go to the dentist."

  "Don't be stupid."

  "Without teeth he won't be able to feed and he might die of hunger. The little sardines are the dentists of the sea." Mia laughed. "They seem tiny and weak. They don't have strong teeth, and they can't eat other fish, but they feast on all those delicious leftovers that are caught between the teeth of sharks. They eat whatever is left there, and the shark is relaxed. There are no crumbs that annoy him. His mouth is clean. And the sardines celebrate."

  Jonathan was listening. Panda too, and Chai and Leo. They didn't understand much, but in the darkness that surrounded them, Mia's voice was soothing.

  "You said something about bad friends too. What did you mean?"

  "I meant the buffalo and the sparrow, for example. They live in Africa. The buffalo is a giant animal that looks a little like an ox. My grandmother showed me a picture. It has a little hump on its back. Do you know how he scratches his back? It's not easy. He has no hands, and can't reach his back..."

  "In the movie The Jungle Book, the bears rub their backs against trees."

  "Right," said Mia. "But bears can stand on two legs. The buffalo can't. The sparrows scratch his back for him."

  "But they too don't have hands," cried Jonathan.

  "They do it with their beaks. The buffalo has thousands of parasites, ticks, flees, and lice partying on its back, eating the fat pouring out of his glands."

  "Who would want to scratch a buffalo's back?" doubted Jonathan.

  "They don't exactly want to do it. They are hungry, so when they ride his back, they eat all the small creatures that bug the buffalo. They are nature's pesticides."

  "Got it," said Jonathan.

  "There is one pro
blem: What will they do when all the insects are gone? What will the sparrows eat?"

  "What can they do?" asked Jonathan.

  "Every once in a while they peck the buffalo's back a little too hard until it bleeds. The blood draws in a new bunch of flies and ticks and mosquitoes, and the sparrows can eat again. They make sure these wounds never really heal."

  Mia wasn't sure Jonathan understood her story. She paused and looked at him. He did understand. "I wonder if I have more sardine friends or maybe more sparrow friends," he said.

  "You did say your girlfriend was always pecking you."

  Going Home

  "Thank you, Mia," said Jonathan and smiled shyly. "I feel much better. I just remembered I came here to tell you the whole block was looking for you."

  "Really?" Mia was alarmed.

  "Your grandmother called the police. She called your parents, and they all went to the circus. They were told that the tiger kidnapped you and who knows; maybe he had eaten you already. They are searching for you."

  "Really?" Mia was alarmed.

  "Your grandmother tried to calm them down. She told them that you spoke the animals’ language but the policemen just laughed and told her she was mad. She cried."

  "Really?" Mia was alarmed.

  "You have to go home," said Jonathan. "You released the tiger, but you can't live in the mountains. You need to go back to your mother and father."

  "I’m afraid I made a mistake. Leo can't live like that. We don't have any jungles here. What is he supposed to eat? Jackals? There aren't too many of them too. And if he comes near the houses, people will be scared and might hurt him."

  "Let's bring him to the zoo," said Jonathan.

  "They will make him live in a cage," objected Mia.

  "At least they won't abuse him, and he won't have to perform in front of strangers," said Jonathan impatiently. "They will take care of him, give him food and water, keep him warm in winter and cool in summer, and give him all the medicines he needs." Jonathan waited to see if Mia opened her heart to accept his new idea. He thought he saw a little opening, so he went on.

  "The tiger won't even have to hunt. He'll have his own trainer and cleaner, and he'll get to meet some female tigers too and maybe have cubs. What's wrong with that? You think he needs his freedom, but the truth is the jungle is a very dangerous place. Food is not easily available, there aren't as many female tigers around, and you can always get sick."

  "You know what?" contemplated Mia. “I need to consult my grandmother."

  "People think the zoo is a bad place," said Jonathan. "It's much better than the jungle."

  "What do you say, Leo?" asked Mia.

  Leo looked at Jonathan and said, "I didn't know this country had no jungle." He paused and then added, "I don't really know my way around here. I came from a different continent."

  In the End, There's an End to Every Story

  At first I was relaxed. I trusted my Mia. I knew she spoke to the animals and thought she couldn't go wrong. As time went by, I began worrying too. I thought of little Mia, whose name hinted that she was my beloved little granddaughter, my love, my soul.

  I was so frightened I began playing with words, like I do, and even wrote an end for this story. And I swear it's a true story, not just an old wives' tale.

  Mia and Jonathan were missing. The whole town was already searching for them, especially all the neighbors from Block 7. I tried calming everyone by assuring them that Mia can talk to the animals so they wouldn't harm her, but no one believed me. They didn't believe the animals. They thought that hungry animals can eat little children. People thought I was mad with grief, but I was sure Mia was fine. Only when it got dark, I began to worry too. This fear entered my heart and wouldn't leave. I tried to shoo it away, and couldn't.

  Suddenly Jonathan knocked on the door. Mia's parents were not at home. They went out with all the neighbors to look for Mia. Jonathan told me everything and asked for my advice.

  "You won't hand her over to the police, will you?" he asked. "Mia is counting on you. She can't make Leo return to the circus."

  "What do you think I should do?" I asked.

  "I suggested we move Leo to the zoo, but Mia doesn't like the idea."

  "Tell Mia to keep Leo on a leash and explain to him what's going on. We'll come back later and bring him food. Meanwhile, we'll think of a plan."

  Mia agreed. So did Leo. Mia and Jonathan hid Leo in the cave and promised to bring him food and water.

  Mia went back through the valley to Block 7. Her parents were the first to see her. Her mother started crying, and her father hugged and calmed them both. They were happy and angry and laughed and got mad, and then asked her a dozen questions.

  Mia pretended not to know where Leo was.

  "How should I know?" she turned her pockets inside out to show everyone that the tiger was not there.

  She kept pretending until the circus left town.

  Her father wondered what was happening to all the meat he kept buying. We knew the answer.

  "Where's all the meat gone to?" he asked, his head stuck in the freezer. We looked through the window, and only people who understand animal language could tell we were looking down the valley, in the direction of the cave.

  Mia and I came up with a plan. We were whispering quietly, standing under the tree, away from the other neighbors. We decided to call the man from the nature reserve. He would know what to do with a tiger. He would take our tiger to the desert.

  The man from the nature reserve was called Wolf. He had big ears and even big teeth, but he also had a gentle soul. He truly loved animals and wouldn't harm a fly. Whenever a mosquito bit him, he would stand quietly and let it go on, thinking that even mosquitoes need to eat. Mia trusted him. He was proud of her for saving the tiger. He promised her that Leo would be free in the desert. He'll be able to run as much as he needs, climb the dunes and rocks, hide in the clefts behind rocks, and do all the tigery things he never had a chance to do in the circus. He'll have plenty of food and no hunters!

  "It's better to take him there at night," said Wolf. "That way, people won't see him in my car and get scared. I don't want anyone asking why there's a tiger in my car..."

  We all agreed. We waited breathlessly until dark. We convinced Mia's parents to go to the movies, and I volunteered to babysit. Wolf came after dark, in a big truck that had a steel cage at the back. He parked it in front of Block 7, and we went to bring Leo from the cave.

  "Leo, don't be afraid," said Mia. "Wolf is taking you to a place with no cages and no leashes." Leo stared at her for a long time. Mia felt the love in his eyes and looked back at him with love. Mia and Jonathan saw Leo enter the cage and waved good-bye. They knew he was happy and would soon be free.

  The End