The Cat Taught The Tiger

Once upon a time, a wise old cat lived in the jungle. She was known as a
great teacher, for she had taught many of the creatures around her to live by
their wits and their wiles.

But the tiger scoffed at the stories of the cat's teachings. "What can such a
little thing teach me?" he asked. But one day as he slinked through the jungle in
search of food, he caught his paw in some tangled roots and stumbled to the
ground. He heard a rustling in the leaves above him, and when he looked up, he
saw the jungle cat leaping from one branch to the next.

She did look swift and graceful. Even the tiger had to admit that. He felt
clumsy and awkward by comparison. He decided he would ask the cat to teach
him her tricks.

And so he lumbered after her, calling out, "Teacher cat, teacher cat, please wait
for me."

The cat, hearing the tiger's cries, stopped for a moment to listen. She
could not believe her ears. Tiger had never before asked for help. But she was
curious -- most cats are. And so she called, "What's that? Are you calling me?"

"I am," the tiger said, hurrying to catch up with her. "I want you to teach me."

"Ah," said the cat, though she spoke from a safe distance. "I'm afraid I cannot
teach you, tiger. If I teach you my tricks, you may use your knowledge against
me. I fear you will attack me with those claws and those teeth and all that
weight of yours."
"Oh no, I won't," said the tiger, bowing low before the cat, who looked down
upon him from her safety in a tall tree branch. "I swear to you, I would not turn
your teachings upon you. I would never betray a teacher's trust, and I will not
only honor your teaching, but I also will punish anyone who does not."

Now the cat was wise, but even a cat can be wooed, and so the cat agreed
that she would teach the tiger. "All right," she said, and the tiger, overjoyed,
tried to leap into the air. "You'll teach me to climb above the jungle floor and to
catch prey and to leap with grace?" he asked. "Oh, I will be forever grateful."

The very next day, lessons began. The other animals gathered to stare in
wonder at the cat and the tiger, together in the woods, practicing leaps and turns
and jumps, elegant stretches. They could not believe their eyes, and so they
whispered about the cat's folly, but after a while, they too began to trust the
tiger's word, for he not only listened to his teacher, but every evening, as they
said farewell, he bowed to her.

"Thank you, my teacher," he said, and they went their separate ways until
morning.

The cat grew more trusting, but the cat was wiser than she sometimes seemed,
and so she kept one trick to herself.

The lessons continued. Weeks passed, spring came to the land, and then
one day the tiger looked at his teacher, and his mouth began to water with
hunger. She looked so plump and so tender. She would make a fine meal, he
thought, and besides, he thought he had learned all that he could.

"Any more lessons?" the tiger asked his teacher.

"I believe you know all you need to know from me," said the cat.

"You're certain, then?" asked the tiger, for he wanted to make very sure he had
learned all the cat's tricks.

"Quite certain," the cat answered calmly.

"Then I am through with you, too," said the tiger, his eyes flashing. He opened
his mouth wide, bared his teeth and extended his claws, but the cat, sensing the
change in her student, was quick. She sped to the top of a tree.

"So you lied to me," she called from her perch.

 The tiger paced below. "What? What's this? You never taught me to
climb trees that high," and true enough, he did not know how to climb to the top
of a tree, so he stood below and paced. He snarled at his teacher and accused her
of cheating him, and all the animals -- watching from a safe distance --
applauded the wise teacher, who knew precisely what she ought not to offer her
student.

And so it was the tiger learned one more lessons.

 Kucing Mengajar Harimau

Alkisah, seekor kucing tua yang bijak tinggal di hutan. Dia dikenal
sebagai guru yang hebat, karena dia telah mengajar banyak makhluk di
sekitarnya untuk hidup dengan akal dan tipu daya mereka.

Tetapi harimau itu mencibir kisah-kisah ajaran kucing itu. "Apa yang bisa
diajarkan hal kecil seperti itu kepadaku?" Dia bertanya. Tetapi suatu hari ketika
dia menyelinap melalui hutan untuk mencari makanan, dia menangkap kakinya
di beberapa akar yang kusut dan tersandung ke tanah. Dia mendengar gemerisik
dedaunan di atasnya, dan ketika dia melihat ke atas, dia melihat kucing hutan
melompat dari satu cabang ke cabang berikutnya.

Dia memang terlihat cepat dan anggun. Bahkan harimau harus mengakui
itu. Dia merasa canggung dan canggung jika dibandingkan. Dia memutuskan
akan meminta kucing itu untuk mengajarkan triknya padanya.

Maka dia berjalan lamban di belakangnya, berseru, "Kucing guru, kucing guru,
tolong tunggu saya."

Kucing itu, mendengar tangisan harimau, berhenti sejenak untuk

mendengarkan. Dia tidak bisa mempercayai telinganya. Tiger belum pernah
meminta bantuan. Tapi dia penasaran - kebanyakan kucing. Maka ia
memanggil, "Apa itu? Apakah Anda memanggil saya?"

"Aku," kata harimau itu, bergegas menyusulnya. "Aku ingin kamu

mengajariku."

"Ah," kata si kucing, meskipun dia berbicara dari jarak yang aman. "Aku
khawatir aku tidak bisa mengajarimu, harimau. Jika aku mengajarimu trikku,
kamu dapat menggunakan pengetahuanmu untuk melawanku. Aku takut kamu
akan menyerangku dengan cakar dan gigi itu dan dengan semua bobotmu."

"Oh, tidak, aku tidak mau," kata harimau itu, membungkuk rendah di depan
kucing, yang memandang rendah dirinya dari keselamatannya di cabang pohon
yang tinggi. "Aku bersumpah padamu, aku tidak akan menyerahkan ajaranmu
padamu. Aku tidak akan pernah mengkhianati kepercayaan seorang guru, dan
aku tidak hanya akan menghormati pengajaranmu, tetapi aku juga akan
menghukum siapa pun yang tidak."
 Sekarang kucing itu bijaksana, tetapi bahkan seekor kucing pun bisa
dirayu, dan karenanya kucing itu setuju bahwa dia akan mengajar harimau itu.
"Baiklah," katanya, dan harimau itu, yang sangat gembira, mencoba melompat
ke udara. "Kamu akan mengajariku naik ke atas lantai hutan dan menangkap
mangsa dan melompat dengan anggun?" Dia bertanya. "Oh, aku akan
selamanya berterima kasih."

Keesokan harinya, pelajaran dimulai. Hewan-hewan lain berkumpul

untuk menatap kagum pada kucing dan harimau, bersama-sama di hutan,
berlatih lompatan dan belokan, peregangan elegan. Mereka tidak bisa
mempercayai mata mereka, dan karena itu mereka berbisik tentang kebodohan
kucing, tetapi setelah beberapa saat, mereka juga mulai mempercayai kata-kata
harimau, karena dia tidak hanya mendengarkan gurunya, tetapi setiap malam,
seperti kata perpisahan, dia membungkuk padanya.

"Terima kasih, guruku," katanya, dan mereka berpisah sampai pagi.

Kucing itu semakin percaya, tetapi kucing itu lebih bijaksana daripada yang
kadang-kadang tampak, dan karenanya dia menyimpan satu trik untuk dirinya
sendiri.

Pelajaran berlanjut. Beberapa minggu berlalu, musim semi datang ke

tanah itu, dan suatu hari harimau itu melihat gurunya, dan mulutnya mulai
berair karena kelaparan. Dia tampak sangat gemuk dan lembut. Dia akan
membuat makanan yang enak, pikirnya, dan selain itu, dia pikir dia telah belajar
semua yang dia bisa.

"Ada pelajaran lagi?" harimau itu bertanya kepada gurunya.

"Aku yakin kamu tahu semua yang perlu kamu ketahui dariku," kata kucing itu.

"Kamu yakin, kalau begitu?" tanya harimau itu, karena dia ingin memastikan
dia telah mempelajari semua trik kucing itu.

"Cukup yakin," jawab kucing itu dengan tenang.

"Kalau begitu aku juga ikut denganmu," kata harimau itu, matanya berkedip.
Dia membuka mulutnya lebar-lebar, memamerkan giginya dan mengulurkan
cakarnya, tetapi kucing itu, yang merasakan perubahan pada siswanya, cepat.
Dia melaju ke puncak pohon.

"Jadi kamu berbohong padaku," panggilnya dari tempat bertenggernya.

 Harimau itu mondar-mandir di bawah. "Apa? Apa ini? Kamu tidak
pernah mengajariku memanjat pohon setinggi itu," dan benar juga, dia tidak
tahu bagaimana memanjat ke puncak pohon, jadi dia berdiri di bawah dan
mondar-mandir. Dia menggeram gurunya dan menuduhnya menipu, dan semua
binatang - mengawasi dari jarak yang aman - bertepuk tangan kepada guru
bijak, yang tahu persis apa yang seharusnya tidak dia tawarkan kepada
muridnya.

Dan demikianlah harimau itu belajar satu pelajaran lagi.