Tiger and woodpecker

The Wit of the Woodpecker

- February 11, 2022

By Srinidhi Murthy

One day in the forest, a tiger, enjoying his meal, got a bone stuck in his jaw. He couldn’t get it out no matter how hard he tried. The tiger was distressed. He thought,

“I will not be able to eat anything unless I get this bone out.”

To receive more such stories in your Inbox & WhatsApp, Please share your Email and Mobile number.

Days passed. The tiger became weaker and weaker due to starvation. A  woodpecker living on a nearby tree approached him and asked why he was lying with his mouth open. In response, the tiger pointed out the bone in his mouth. Understanding the tiger’s problem, the woodpecker decided to make a deal with him. The woodpecker told the tiger that he would remove the bone if the latter promised to give the former a share in the flesh of animals he kills. The tiger agreed immediately and the woodpecker removed the bone from his mouth.

 Relieved from the discomfort, the hungry tiger happily went hunting. A few hours later, he returned with his prey and started devouring it. The woodpecker saw this and asked for his share, as per the deal. 

Script: C.R. Sharma and Kamala Chandrakant, Illustration: Ashok Dongre
Script: C.R. Sharma and Kamala Chandrakant, Illustration: Ashok Dongre

The tiger laughed at him and said,

“You know I am a wild animal. I could have easily eaten you when you entered my mouth. I didn’t and so you should be grateful for that.”

The woodpecker was furious when he realized the fact that he had been used by the tiger for his own benefit. 

He waited patiently till the tiger began to doze off, after the heavy meal. The woodpecker swiftly pecked one of the eyes of the tiger, blinding him in one eye. The tiger growled in pain and asked why the woodpecker was so cruel to him. To this, the witty woodpecker replied,

“You know I have a sharp beak. I could have easily blinded both of your eyes. But I didn’t and you should be grateful for that.”

Read more animal stories in our Panchatantra and Jataka collections, now available on the ACK Comics app, Flipkart, Amazon, and other major e-tailers. 

To receive more such stories in your Inbox & WhatsApp, Please share your Email and Mobile number.

Related Articles

Reading Phule Today

The Poems of Savitribai Phule: Rage, Resistance, and Rebirth  – By Shree Sauparnika V More than a century before India declared itself a democracy, Savitribai Phule was laying its moral foundation—with chalk, slate and poetry. Known to most as India’s first woman teacher, she was also a radical poet who wielded words like weapons in […]

Women Dalit Writers of Modern India

By Jayshree Misra Tripathi Bama Bama Faustina Soosairaj was born on 14 March 1958, in the village of W. Puthupathy in Tamil Nadu. Her father was in the Indian Army and her mother worked as a coolie. It was her mother, Bama says, who brought her up as a sensitive human being. Bama’s childhood had […]

Must-Read Books about the Partition of India

By Meghana. L The 1947 partition of British India created two new countries: Pakistan and independent India. This event had severe consequences, culturally, socially, politically, as well as economically. It displaced about two crore people, of which around two to ten lakh people lost their lives. Several books have since been written that attempt to […]

Comic of The Month

The Naval Journey of India Book I

This book is the first of a three-book series that takes a deep and detailed look at India's Naval History and a deep insight into the lives of our men and women in white. But any series on the Indian Navy has to start at the very beginning - exploring India's celebrated maritime history. Join our little hero, Bharat, and his grandfather, Commodore Sagar, as they sail into the deep blue waters of time. Book I of The Naval Journey of India takes a sweeping look at India's maritime endeavours, how the seas impacted us over millennia and how the oceans made us who we are.

Read Now
20 Minute Read