Have you ever been told the tale of The Terrible Tiger? It starts like this:
The terrible tiger woke at dawn,
he scratched his stomach,
he yawned a yawn.
He rubbed his eyes,
then yawned again,
and terribly left his terrible den.
And he sang a terrible song as he loped along.
“Oh I’m the most terrible,
terrible, terrible
tiger that ever has been,
and anyone who comes my way
I’ll surely swallow down today,
I’ll eat him whether he’s fat or lean,
for I am so terribly, terribly mean.
Yes, I’m the most terrible,
terrible, terrible
tiger that ever has been.”
Did you notice how this story was written? Did you notice the pattern and the rhythm and the rhyming words?
It’s still a story; it has a title (The Terrible Tiger) and an author (Jack Prelutsky) as well as an illustrator (Arnold Lobel). It has a main character (a terrible tiger) and a setting (at the start, this is the tiger’s den). And my goodness there is a problem, isn’t there. I certainly wouldn’t want to meet him!
But it is told in rhyme. With a pattern and a rhythm.
And now, let’s get back to that problem, shall we.
The tiger hadn’t travelled far,
not more than half a mile,
when he met the village grocer,
and he smiled a terrible smile.
Knowing what you already do about the terrible tiger, I bet you can guess what happened next!
In spite of getting down on his knees and begging, the grocer was gobbled up (along with plenty of cheese and butter). And the tiger, the terrible tiger, continued on his way, singing his terrible song.
“Oh I’m the most terrible,
terrible, terrible
tiger that ever has been,
and anyone who comes my way
I’ll surely swallow down today,
I’ll eat him whether he’s fat or lean,
for I am so terribly, terribly mean.
Yes, I’m the most terrible,
terrible, terrible
tiger that ever has been.”
As if that was not enough…..
The tiger laughed a terrible laugh,
for there before his eyes
he saw the village baker
with his muffins and his pies.
And pretty soon he had dispatched the baker too! Along with his muffins and pies. And off he went, again singing his terrible song. (Maybe you can join in by now.)
“Oh I’m the most terrible,
terrible, terrible
tiger that ever has been,
and anyone who comes my way
I’ll surely swallow down today,
I’ll eat him whether he’s fat or lean,
for I am so terribly, terribly mean.
Yes, I’m the most terrible,
terrible, terrible
tiger that ever has been.”
A hapless farmer was the next person the terrible tiger came across.
And yes, he too ended up in the tiger’s tummy!
“Oh I’m the most terrible,
terrible, terrible
tiger that ever has been,
and anyone who comes my way
I’ll surely swallow down today,
I’ll eat him whether he’s fat or lean,
for I am so terribly, terribly mean.
Yes, I’m the most terrible,
terrible, terrible
tiger that ever has been.”
But. BUT.
The tiger sped along the trail,
roaring his terrible roar.
He soon approached a tailor
and he thought, I’ve room for more.
He plucked the tailor off his stool
and ate him, thimble, thread and spool.
…..
But while the tiger loped along
in his terrible, terrible way,
the tailor lit a match and saw the tiger’s other prey.
And did you notice, in the light of that match, what other tools of the trade a tailor uses? There in the tailor’s hands is a pair of scissors. And now, I think, the tiger it is who has the problem!
The tailor snipped, then snipped some more,
and soon to their delight,
the tailor freed the other three,
who bolted out of sight.
The tailor climbed out of the hole in the tiger’s side and spoke sternly to him.
And then, as tailors hate to see a hole in anything, he thoughtfully sewed the tiger back up again.
And so, following his repair, off the tiger loped once more, terribly singing his terrible song. Which by now you know off by heart! Except that he changed the last bit in the light of his experience with the tailor.
“Oh I’m the most terrible,
terrible, terrible
tiger that ever has been,
and anyone who comes my way
I’ll surely swallow down today,
except that tailor,
for at best,
he isn’t easy to digest.
But otherwise I’ll eat them all,
I’ll eat them whether they’re short or tall,
I’ll eat them whether they’re fat or lean,
for I am so terribly, terribly mean.
Yes, I’m the most terrible,
terrible, terrible
tiger that ever has been.”
So watch out. Unless you are a tailor. Or have a handy pair of scissors about your person.
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