The Tiger, the Brahmin and the Jackal

The Tiger, the Brahmin and the Jackal is a popular Indian fairy tale with a long history and many variants. A version was included in Joseph Jacobs' collection Indian Fairy Tales.

Synopsis
A brahmin passes a tiger in a trap. The tiger pleads for his release, promising not to eat the brahmin. The brahmin sets him free, but no sooner is the tiger free than he announces his intention to eat the brahmin.

The brahmin is horrified, and tells the tiger how unjust he is. They agree that they will ask the first three things they encounter to judge between them.

The first thing they encounter is a tree, who, having suffered at the hands of humankind, answers that the tiger should have his meal. Next a buffalo, exploited and then mistreated, feels it is only just that the brahmin should be eaten.

Finally they meet a jackal, who at first feigns incomprehension of what has happened and asks to see the trap. Once there he claims still not to understand. The tiger gets back in the trap to demonstrate, and the jackal quickly shuts him in, suggesting to the brahmin that they leave matters thus.

Variants
There are more than a hundred versions of this tale spread across the world. In some the released animal is a crocodile, in some a snake, a tiger and others a wolf.

Some variants are very old, going back at least to the Panchatantra or Fables of Bidpai and the Jataka tales. In Europe it appeared some 900 years ago in the Disciplina Clericalis of Petrus Alphonsi, and later in the Gesta Romanorum and the Directorium Vitae Humanae of John of Capua. There are also modern illustrated versions of the tale, such as The Tiger, the Brahmin & the Jackal illustrated by David Kennett and The Tiger and the Brahmin illustrated by Kurt Vargo. Rabbit Ears Productions produced a video version of the last book, narrated by Ben Kingsley, with music by Ravi Shankar.