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The Lady Or The Tiger?

In the very olden time there lived a semi-barbaric king, whose ideas, though somewhat polished and sharpened by the progressiveness of distant Latin neighbors, were still large, florid, and untrammeled, as became the half of him which was barbaric. He was a man of exuberant fancy, and, withal, of an authority so irresistible that, at his will, he turned his varied fancies into facts. He was greatly given to self-communing, and, when he and himself agreed upon anything, the thing was done. When every member of his domestic and political systems moved smoothly in its appointed course, his nature was bland and genial; but, whenever there was a little hitch, and some of his orbs got out of their orbits, he was blander and more genial still, for nothing pleased him so much as to make the crooked straight and crush down uneven places.

Among the borrowed notions by which his barbarism had become semified was that of the public arena, in which, by exhibitions of manly and beastly valor, the minds of his subjects were refined and cultured.

But even here the exuberant and barbaric fancy asserted itself. The arena of the king was built, not to give the people an opportunity of hearing the rhapsodies of dying gladiators, nor to enable them to view the inevitable conclusion of a conflict between religious opinions and hungry jaws, but for purposes far better adapted to widen and develop the mental energies of the people. This vast amphitheater, with its encircling galleries, its mysterious vaults, and its unseen passages, was an agent of poetic justice, in which crime was punished, or virtue rewarded, by the decrees of an impartial and incorruptible chance. girlplays

When a subject was accused of a crime of sufficient importance to interest the king, public notice was given that on an appointed day the fate of the accused person would be decided in the king's arena, a structure which well deserved its name, for, although its form and plan were borrowed from afar, its purpose emanated solely from the brain of this man, who, every barleycorn a king, knew no tradition to which he owed more allegiance than pleased his fancy, and who ingrafted on every adopted form of human thought and action the rich growth of his barbaric idealism.

When all the people had assembled in the galleries, and the king, surrounded by his court, sat high up on his throne of royal state on one side of the arena, he gave a signal, a door beneath him opened, and the accused subject stepped out into the amphitheater. Directly opposite him, on the other side of the enclosed space, were two doors, exactly alike and side by side. It was the duty and the privilege of the person on trial to walk directly to these doors and open one of them. He could open either door he pleased; he was subject to no guidance or influence but that of the aforementioned impartial and incorruptible chance. If he opened the one, there came out of it a hungry tiger, the fiercest and most cruel that could be procured, which immediately sprang upon him and tore him to pieces as a punishment for his guilt. The moment that the case of the criminal was thus decided, doleful iron bells were clanged, great wails went up from the hired mourners posted on the outer rim of the arena, and the vast audience, with bowed heads and downcast hearts, wended slowly their homeward way, mourning greatly that one so young and fair, or so old and respected, should have merited so dire a fate.

But, if the accused person opened the other door, there came forth from it a lady, the most suitable to his years and station that his majesty could select among his fair subjects, and to this lady he was immediately married, as a reward of his innocence. It mattered not that he might already possess a wife and family, or that his affections might be engaged upon an object of his own selection; the king allowed no such subordinate arrangements to interfere with his great scheme of retribution and reward. The exercises, as in the other instance, took place immediately, and in the arena. Another door opened beneath the king, and a priest, followed by a band of choristers, and dancing maidens blowing joyous airs on golden horns and treading an epithalamic measure, advanced to where the pair stood, side by side, and the wedding was promptly and cheerily solemnized. Then the gay brass bells rang forth their merry peals, the people shouted glad hurrahs, and the innocent man, preceded by children strewing flowers on his path, led his bride to his home.

This was the king's semi-barbaric method of administering justice. Its perfect fairness is obvious. The criminal could not know out of which door would come the lady; he opened either he pleased, without having the slightest idea whether, in the next instant, he was to be devoured or married. On some occasions the tiger came out of one door, and on some out of the other. The decisions of this tribunal were not only fair, they were positively determinate: the accused person was instantly punished if he found himself guilty, and, if innocent, he was rewarded on the spot, whether he liked it or not. There was no escape from the judgments of the king's arena.

The institution was a very popular one. When the people gathered together on one of the great trial days, they never knew whether they were to witness a bloody slaughter or a hilarious wedding. This element of uncertainty lent an interest to the occasion which it could not otherwise have attained. Thus, the masses were entertained and pleased, and the thinking part of the community could bring no charge of unfairness against this plan, for did not the accused person have the whole matter in his own hands?

This semi-barbaric king had a daughter as blooming as his most florid fancies, and with a soul as fervent and imperious as his own. As is usual in such cases, she was the apple of his eye, and was loved by him above all humanity. Among his courtiers was a young man of that fineness of blood and lowness of station common to the conventional heroes of romance who love royal maidens. This royal maiden was well satisfied with her lover, for he was handsome and brave to a degree unsurpassed in all this kingdom, and she loved him with an ardor that had enough of barbarism in it to make it exceedingly warm and strong. This love affair moved on happily for many months, until one day the king happened to discover its existence. He did not hesitate nor waver in regard to his duty in the premises. The youth was immediately cast into prison, and a day was appointed for his trial in the king's arena. This, of course, was an especially important occasion, and his majesty, as well as all the people, was greatly interested in the workings and development of this trial. Never before had such a case occurred; never before had a subject dared to love the daughter of the king. In after years such things became commonplace enough, but then they were in no slight degree novel and startling.

The tiger-cages of the kingdom were searched for the most savage and relentless beasts, from which the fiercest monster might be selected for the arena; and the ranks of maiden youth and beauty throughout the land were carefully surveyed by competent judges in order that the young man might have a fitting bride in case fate did not determine for him a different destiny. Of course, everybody knew that the deed with which the accused was charged had been done. He had loved the princess, and neither he, she, nor any one else, thought of denying the fact; but the king would not think of allowing any fact of this kind to interfere with the workings of the tribunal, in which he took such great delight and satisfaction. No matter how the affair turned out, the youth would be disposed of, and the king would take an aesthetic pleasure in watching the course of events, which would determine whether or not the young man had done wrong in allowing himself to love the princess.

The appointed day arrived. From far and near the people gathered, and thronged the great galleries of the arena, and crowds, unable to gain admittance, massed themselves against its outside walls. The king and his court were in their places, opposite the twin doors, those fateful portals, so terrible in their similarity.

All was ready. The signal was given. A door beneath the royal party opened, and the lover of the princess walked into the arena. Tall, beautiful, fair, his appearance was greeted with a low hum of admiration and anxiety. Half the audience had not known so grand a youth had lived among them. No wonder the princess loved him! What a terrible thing for him to be there!

As the youth advanced into the arena he turned, as the custom was, to bow to the king, but he did not think at all of that royal personage. His eyes were fixed upon the princess, who sat to the right of her father. Had it not been for the moiety of barbarism in her nature it is probable that lady would not have been there, but her intense and fervid soul would not allow her to be absent on an occasion in which she was so terribly interested. From the moment that the decree had gone forth that her lover should decide his fate in the king's arena, she had thought of nothing, night or day, but this great event and the various subjects connected with it. Possessed of more power, influence, and force of character than any one who had ever before been interested in such a case, she had done what no other person had done - she had possessed herself of the secret of the doors. She knew in which of the two rooms, that lay behind those doors, stood the cage of the tiger, with its open front, and in which waited the lady. Through these thick doors, heavily curtained with skins on the inside, it was impossible that any noise or suggestion should come from within to the person who should approach to raise the latch of one of them. But gold, and the power of a woman's will, had brought the secret to the princess.

And not only did she know in which room stood the lady ready to emerge, all blushing and radiant, should her door be opened, but she knew who the lady was. It was one of the fairest and loveliest of the damsels of the court who had been selected as the reward of the accused youth, should he be proved innocent of the crime of aspiring to one so far above him; and the princess hated her. Often had she seen, or imagined that she had seen, this fair creature throwing glances of admiration upon the person of her lover, and sometimes she thought these glances were perceived, and even returned. Now and then she had seen them talking together; it was but for a moment or two, but much can be said in a brief space; it may have been on most unimportant topics, but how could she know that? The girl was lovely, but she had dared to raise her eyes to the loved one of the princess; and, with all the intensity of the savage blood transmitted to her through long lines of wholly barbaric ancestors, she hated the woman who blushed and trembled behind that silent door.

When her lover turned and looked at her, and his eye met hers as she sat there, paler and whiter than any one in the vast ocean of anxious faces about her, he saw, by that power of quick perception which is given to those whose souls are one, that she knew behind which door crouched the tiger, and behind which stood the lady. He had expected her to know it. He understood her nature, and his soul was assured that she would never rest until she had made plain to herself this thing, hidden to all other lookers-on, even to the king. The only hope for the youth in which there was any element of certainty was based upon the success of the princess in discovering this mystery; and the moment he looked upon her, he saw she had succeeded, as in his soul he knew she would succeed.

Then it was that his quick and anxious glance asked the question: "Which?" It was as plain to her as if he shouted it from where he stood. There was not an instant to be lost. The question was asked in a flash; it must be answered in another.

Her right arm lay on the cushioned parapet before her. She raised her hand, and made a slight, quick movement toward the right. No one but her lover saw her. Every eye but his was fixed on the man in the arena.

He turned, and with a firm and rapid step he walked across the empty space. Every heart stopped beating, every breath was held, every eye was fixed immovably upon that man. Without the slightest hesitation, he went to the door on the right, and opened it.

Now, the point of the story is this: Did the tiger come out of that door, or did the lady ?

The more we reflect upon this question, the harder it is to answer. It involves a study of the human heart which leads us through devious mazes of passion, out of which it is difficult to find our way. Think of it, fair reader, not as if the decision of the question depended upon yourself, but upon that hot-blooded, semi-barbaric princess, her soul at a white heat beneath the combined fires of despair and jealousy. She had lost him, but who should have him?

How often, in her waking hours and in her dreams, had she started in wild horror, and covered her face with her hands as she thought of her lover opening the door on the other side of which waited the cruel fangs of the tiger!

But how much oftener had she seen him at the other door! How in her grievous reveries had she gnashed her teeth, and torn her hair, when she saw his start of rapturous delight as he opened the door of the lady! How her soul had burned in agony when she had seen him rush to meet that woman, with her flushing cheek and sparkling eye of triumph; when she had seen him lead her forth, his whole frame kindled with the joy of recovered life; when she had heard the glad shouts from the multitude, and the wild ringing of the happy bells; when she had seen the priest, with his joyous followers, advance to the couple, and make them man and wife before her very eyes; and when she had seen them walk away together upon their path of flowers, followed by the tremendous shouts of the hilarious multitude, in which her one despairing shriek was lost and drowned!

Would it not be better for him to die at once, and go to wait for her in the blessed regions of semi-barbaric futurity?

And yet, that awful tiger, those shrieks, that blood!

Her decision had been indicated in an instant, but it had been made after days and nights of anguished deliberation. She had known she would be asked, she had decided what she would answer, and, without the slightest hesitation, she had moved her hand to the right.

The question of her decision is one not to be lightly considered, and it is not for me to presume to set myself up as the one person able to answer it. And so I leave it with all of you: Which came out of the opened door - the lady, or the tiger?

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Average: 3.6 (76 votes)

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the tiger

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The Story was pretty good. The "Which door did she choose" factor is a good thing. Thus, this makes people really think about which door did the princess direct the man to- the Lady or the tiger?? -VERY COMPELLING AND HIGHLY ENJOYABLE

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Its really a portrayal of human nature? Would the princess rather have her love life out the remainder of his life w/ another woman, or would she have him die to have him be her own? I think its the tiger. --An Impressed Reader

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I think its the tiger, because, and I am not a sexist, I love women, jealous women are quite nasty. :-D j/k (but seriously they can be) I heard that Frank Stockton used to get cornered at parties by people and they asked him in person who came out of the door. Loved the story by the way.

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This story is really deep if you think about it. For example, the princess might choose the lady because she thinks her lover will choose the opposite because he knows she is semi-barbaric (and he thinks she would choose the tiger). Ok, so I didnt explain myself very well but there are many ways of thinking about it. I think she would be better off not knowing which door the tiger is behind.

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if the lady really loved the man, shed want him to be happy even if hed be with another woman. if it was the tiger, then she was selfish about her love and let him die without letting anyone feel the love shed felt from him. instead of sharing his love, she thought "If I cant have him, no one else can" kinda thing, but really, it depends... Im not sure..

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I think its the lady. Yet I believe the princess had shown him to the door of tiger. The youth must have known her feverish passion and her barbarity. He would not choose what the princess had shown. And this understanding was what makes the princess loved him so much.

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the point is what the man chose if he loved her and didnt want any other he could have chosen to die and if she wanted him to live?then he would die!!!but even beeing with someone you dont love isnt death??

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I totally loved this story it really intrigued me, and I though the best part was the end, when it doesnt even tell you the ending. I have never read a story with such a bisard ending. -Nathalie

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The story has a great ending. Stockton knew what he was doing when he never told anyone the ending.Personally, I think it was the tiger. If the princess couldnt have the man then no one could.(especially a women she hated)

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its the tiger....what can you expect from a jealous and semi-barbaric woman? poor guy....love is not always about giving up and fighting for it...selfishness is one factor too...above all the story is simply superb...i love it! - liz:)

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This book was great! I really enjoyed it! But answering the question, The Lady Or The Tiger? I think it was THE LADY, its not easy to see your lover getting eaten by a Tiger. Another reason is because, she led him to the lady so he can live and after he gets married they can meet and run away together. Thats what i think, but hey everybody has their own opinion. -Moe,15,Va

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Well, I really love the story!!! It is one of my most favorite!!! When I was just at the beginning, I couldnt wait to find out which or who went out of the room!!! But I think it is the tiger...If I were the princess, I wouldnt let the one I love to go to another woman!!!

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I think that although the theory that the man chose the door opposite the one the princess pointed out would be a good one, but the story plainly says that he did open the one on the right, as the princess wanted.

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The princess told him to pick the door with the lady. Then, after the wedding, the princess would meet up with her lover and they would run away together - somewhere that noone would find them. Then theyd lice happily ever after! JFT, 13

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The princess will tell him to choose the door with the lady because if someone loves someone else - they would not want to watch them die. Besides, she is the princess and all she has to do is persuade her father to allow her to change the rule in this case. Or, she could just persuade her lover to leave his new wife - and run away with her... Then theyd live happily ever after! RR, 13

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I believe the princess chose the door with the lady. Since she is the princess, she would then be able to remove her father from power -perhaps her savageness and barbarism will lead her to kill him - and as Queen, she can change the law, marry her lover, and live happily ever after! RRJ, 14

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This is an inconsistent story.the reason is,I think, the author let us choose between only two types of love.- (love with self sacrifice & love with jealousy)maybe he is an extremist? I think they can be possibly compatible.so every opinion could be the answer. if you think the jealousy is more powerful than devotion. you would say "it`s tiger."

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"I think it was THE LADY!Being jealous does not exactly means that you can not stand anyone near your lover!HERE if the lover was really in love should have chosenthe opposite door;BUT he did not!!!!" /haidy

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I had to read it as an assignment for class, then each student had to write an ending for it. I have an idea of what happened that doesnt involve the lady or the tiger, yet involves them both in an immense way, but I cant say what it is because Im going to try to get mine published.

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Hi, Im a danish girl on 14 and I had an english school project where we had to write down our ending on the story; her is mine...! Since the princess knew that she t have that only person loved, for her father she decided that she t wanted to live anymore A life without each other t liveable she thought. Therefore she had pointed out the door with the tiger for her beloved and thought that she could just jump down there to him, when the tiger came out. But just before he reached the door and was about to open it, she decided to do something else, she jumped up and yelled out in the arena: WasndidncouldnSTOP! Then she looked upon her father, and said: Father, I know you think re doing what is best for me, but the only thing I want is to be with him. And if I t, I t want to live at all! s why I have pointed out the door where the tiger is, so that if we t live together, then at least we will die together. But then I thought if you really love me as much as you say you do, ll provide this from happening by letting me marry him. The semi-barbaric king looked at his daughter for at while and then at the love of her life standing in the arena. He decided that if their love was so strong, that she would die for it, it must be true love. And he t deny her that in her life. So the whole door-choosing-chapter was skipped and they went straight to the wedding! And the joyful couple lived happily ever after! I know its a little ontraditionally. But I thought that they should have each other! SmOoChEs, Jen.

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