1. Who is the Tiger King ? Why does he get that name ?
Ans- The Maharaja of Pratibandapuram was called the was called the tiger king . At the time of his birth the astrologers declared that the prince would have to die one day . The ten-day-old prince asked the astrologers to reveal the manner of his death . The wise men were baffled at his miracle . The chief astrologer said that his death would come from a tiger . The young prince growled and uttered terrifying words . ' Let tigers beware ! ' He decided to kill one hundred tigers . He thus, got the name ' The Tiger King '.
2. What did the royal infant grow up to be ?
Ans - Crown Prince Jung Jung Bahadur grew taller and stronger day-by-day . He was brought up by an English nany and tutored in English by an Englishman . He got the control of his state when he came of age at twenty . He decided to kill tigers . For him it was act of self- defence, as the astrologers had predicted his death by a tiger .
3. What will the Maharaja do to find the required number of tigers to kill?
Ans - Within ten years the Maharaja was able to kill seventy tigers . Then the tiger population became extinct in the forests of Pratibandapuram . One day the Maharaja sent for the dewan and asked him if he was aware of the fact that thirty tigers still remained to be shot down by his gun . The dewan shuddered with fear . The Maharaja told him that he had decided to get married . He asked the dewan to draw up statistics of tiger populations in different native states. Then he was to investigate if there was a girl he could marry in the royal family of a state with a large tiger population . This plan was put into practice . The dewan found the right girl from a state which possessed a large number of tigers . The Maharaja killed five or six tigers each time he visited his father- in - law . Thus , he was able to find the required number of tigers to kill . He shot ninety - nine tigers .
4. How will the Maharaja prepare himself for the hundredth tiger which was supposed to decide his fate ?
Ans - Maharaja's anxiety decided the highest level if excitement when only one tiger remained to be killed . He thought of the hundredth tiger during the day and dreamt of it at night. But tigers farms ran dry even in his father- in - law's kingdom. It became impossible to locate tigers anywhere . If he could kill just that one single beast , the Maharaja would have no fear left . As the late chief astrologer had said that Maharaja should beware of the hundredth tiger . The Maharaja was sunk in gloom . Then came a happy news . In his own state sheep began to disappear frequently from a hillside village. Surely , a tiger was at work . The villagers ran to inform the Maharaja . The Maharaja announced a three- year exemption from all taxes for that village . He set out on the hunt at once. But the tiger was not easily found. The Maharaja continued camping in the forest and waiting for the tiger .
5. What will now happen to the astrologer ? Do you think the prophecy was indisputably disproved ?
Ans - In order to save his skin , the dewan got an old tiger brought from the People's park in Madras . It was kept hidden in his house . One midnight with the help of his aged wife , he dragged the tiger to the car and shoved it into the seat . He himself drove the car straight to the forest where the Maharaja was hunting . The dewan hauled the beast out of thecar and pushed it down to the ground . Next day , the same old tiger wandered into the Maharaja's presence. The Maharaja was overjoyed . He took careful aim at the beast . The tiger fell down in a crumpled heap . The Maharaja was extremely happy that he had killed the hundredth tiger .
The hunters found that the old tiger was not dead. It had only fainted on hearing the sound of the bullet . They did not want the Maharaja to know this fact and lose their jobs . So one of them shot at it and killed it . The dead tiger was taken in procession through the town and buried there . A tomb was created over it . The prophecy was not disproved as the king met his death with the infection caused by the silver of a wooden tiger . The astrologer was already dead. He could not be punished or rewarded .
