Greed Over God
Even the king of the jungle can smell a hypocrite.
Kaiser was out for a stroll. He aimlessly loitered around his dominion. He was a great admirer of beauty, and stopped to smell every cluster of flowers he came across. All his subjects respected him, but knew now was the time to keep their distance. Their king was passively hunting, one paw in front of another. The graceful creature's mood was subdued, his stomach rumbling.
Kaiser caught a sleeping fowl unawares. He did not pounce. He let out a deep growl. The fowl awoke, startled. The drowsiness in his eyes escaped the moment it came face to face with the tiger-king. It froze. Kaiser bared his teeth menacingly. The fowl, scared out of its wits, flew as fast as its wings could permit.
The jest improved Kaiser's mood, but not his hunger.
That is when Kaiser spotted a glint in the bushes. Kaiser headed for it out of sheer curiosity. His padded paws nullified the sound of his footsteps, and his stripes made him invisible among the foliage. Kaiser knew the shiny object probably was not prey, but old habits die hard. It was a lazy afternoon, and there was nothing more interesting than seeing a glorious glint in a land of greens and browns.
What was that? The glint was now more to Kaiser's right than before. Was it moving? Kaiser's interest was piqued. His pace increased. His tongue hung out, flopping side to side. There it was. He peered out to find a clearing in the woods. Passing through was a lady. Kaiser's expression soured.
To Kaiser, anything that moved was edible, but humans were a different story. They cried too much, did not provide a thrilling chase, and were clad in annoying coverings that were a pain to digest. He hopped in front of the woman. The woman, as expected, screamed. It was so shrill it slightly startled Kaiser.
“Oi, human! Shut up!” Kaiser commanded.
“Wha- how? Can-can you speak?” The human exclaimed.
“Long story. Anyway, I was wondering if I could have that. No… not that. The shiny thing, yeah – yeah, that. May I have it?” Kaiser politely bared his teeth.
“This-this gold bangle was given to me by my mother-in-law! It is really precious to me!” she argued. Kaiser bared his teeth some more.
“Do you think I know what a mother-in-law is? Even if I did, do you think I would care?”
“I’ll give it to you if you let me go.”
Kaiser nodded. The woman threw the bangle at him. He caught it in his teeth. These humans, you have to be stern with them. Out of the corner of his eye, Kaiser saw the woman racing away from him. He licked the bangle. It was cool. He tried his teeth on it. It was quite hard. Kaiser remembered he still had not had lunch yet.
Kaiser again began his search for his meal. He had been roaming for about half an hour when he came across a lake. As he approached the lake to quench his thirst, he noticed another human at the far end of it. He was submerged to waist level, making sophisticated gestures with his eyes closed. This must be what humans call praying. Another human, younger than the first, was calling out to him.
“Papa, you must have some food. Let us have lunch together.” The boy cried out.
“I must not be disturbed. My first priority is my faith, then myself.” The man spoke sternly.
An idea struck Kaiser. These were people resting in his land – his guests. They must be interacted with. Kaiser wanted to see whether the man truly was faithful to his religion.
Kaiser moved along the bank, staying hidden behind the layer of undergrowth. He stopped once he was within pouncing distance, directly in front of the man.
He suddenly projected his face out of the green, and splashed water in the man's face with his paw.
The man let out a growl.
“Narendra! How man-“ he cut himself short when he opened his eyes and realised he was face to face with a Royal Bengal tiger.
Kaiser knew his proud cousin from Gujarat would have pounced on the man without a second thought, but not Kaiser. He wanted to study humans first. The man, to his credit, did not scream or start to head in the other direction. He was visibly startled, though – a green flag for Kaiser.
“I have been very pleased by your piousness, gentleman, and as a token of gratitude, I want to offer you this.” Kaiser’s voice reverberated through the forest. He held out the bangle. “Come to me.” Kaiser carefully chose his words.
Something shone in the man's eyes. He relieved himself from the posture he was in. Though Kaiser had never seen that expression before, he instantly recognised it as a folly desire. The man's eyebrows shot up, and the hint of a smile appeared. The man's son glumly watched the exchange, questioning his sanity. He watched his father heading towards the tiger, one step in front of another.
“Lord of the Jungle, I wholeheartedly thank you for the gift that you present to me. You are one of few who have appreciated my qualities. As you can see, my lord, I have a son to take care of. I will gladly accept your offering.”
“But my friend, what about your chants and prayers? Will you leave them incomplete?” Kaiser asked innocently.
“I pray every day, but I do not have the fortune of meeting the likes of you every day, now do I?” The man was trying his best to flatter Kaiser, but the tiger could detect a sense of impatience betrayed in his voice.
“But would it not anger your gods, to abandon them for a tiny bangle? Surely there must be consequences!” The tiger asked, a bit firmly.
“No, my friend! Gods observe everything. Surely they know how much I am in need of your gift!” The man spoke anxiously, clearly annoyed. “Please grant it to me, for what use is there of delaying doing something for the good of others – something virtuous!”
It was now from lord of the jungle to my friend; the audacity of these humans! Thankfully, the man was not one to scream. Kaiser was so hungry that he did not care for a chase, and the man was not covered in those fabrics that were a pain to digest.
“You fool!” Kaiser's voice carried great rage. “Who do you consider yourself to be? I have seen a great lot of creatures in my time, but none half as vain and selfish as you! You fraud! You are like a songbird singing tunes of love and camaraderie while devouring the carcass of a poor rabbit! In the end, it is Greed over God!”
With that, Kaiser pounced.
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