英文幽默故事：The Death of A Man Eater

Tigers eat flesh of other animals in the forest. Generally tigers do not kill tigers. They like only the flesh of other animals. A tiger has to be very quick in catching¹ other animals. But an old tiger or a wounded tiger can not run fast. At such times it can only catch people. People can not run as fast as animals. Therefore they became easy prey² to tigers or other animals. After eating human flesh once, a tiger will not get any other flesh. Such a tiger is called a man-eater. 

 

Once a tiger in a jungle in Uttar Pradesh in India turned a man-eater. It had killed women and men in the forest. These people had gone into the forest to collect firewood, fruits, roots and other things. After such incidents people stopped going into the forest. 

 

Then the man-eater started to visit the nearby villages quite often. It killed people or domestic³ animals. The villages became panicky. The concerned government wanted to do something. It requested Jim Corbett to help the villagers. He agreed to track down the man-eater. 

 

Jim Corbett was an expert hunter. He had developed a lot of experience with tigers and other wild animals. He was a lover of wild life. He did not like to kill wild animals for pleasure or sport. But he had not hesitated to kill man-eaters. This was only to help the people in trouble. 

 

Jim Corbett arrived at the village with his rifle. The rifle was a powerful one. It could kill big and strong animals like the lion, the tiger and elephant. He had collected all the information regarding the man-eater. He selected a place. The tiger used to come there often. Jim Corbett built a platform. This platform was fixed⁴ on a high branch. A young buffalo⁵ was tied to the nearby tree. Jim Corbett waited all night. But the tiger did not come. Perhaps it had scented⁶ the hiding man and his powerful. 

 

Jim Corbett changed his plan. He went back to the village. After that the tiger came. It killed the buffalo. Then it dragged the dead buffalo in the jungle. The villagers told Jim Corbett this news. Jim Corbett then went into the forest in search of the tiger. At last he reached the place. He climbed a tree to find out the tiger. The tiger had eaten a portion of the dead body of the buffalo. It was lying at a distance. Slowly and cautiously⁷ he followed the track. He found the tiger resting after a good meal. At first he hesitated to shoot a sleeping tiger. But then this was not a good tiger. It was a man-eater. With this thought in mind, he sent two bullets into the sleeping tiger’s head. The tiger died at once. The villagers were happy. 

 

分享到：