A Tiger without stripes
©Seija Maria Tarvainen, Tohmajaervi, Finland

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I shall tell you now a small fairytale from the ancient times, when the continents were together:

Long time ago in Africa, there lived one catfamily in the wilderness. They were tigers without stripes. They lived in the desert catching sick animals which came with the herd over the desert to get food from the greener land after the wilderness. The desertcats were satisfied with sick animals, because the healthy ones ran so fast, that they could not catch them. During the hot daytime the desertcats slept in the coolness of a rocky lair. One day a desertcat decided to go and see, what was there after the wilderness and came to a great unknown forest.

 

The desertcat thought: ""It's so nice the stay here, there is much water to drink and so green", and lay down to sleep. At last the desertcat became hungry. It tried to catch an anthilope, but the anthilope saw it from afar and leaped away. The desertcat tried to catch a rabbit, but the rabbit saw the desertcat from afar and slipped into its earthenhole. The desertcat tried to catch an infant elephant, but the mother elephant saw the desertcat from afar and tossed water over the desertcat.

 

"How could I become invisible that I could catch prey in these green areas?" , asked the desertcat from the owl. "Go to Kilimandjaro-mountain and at the foot of the mountain you will get the answer", rumoured the owl. The desertcat ran being very hungry at the foot of Kilimandjaro-mountain and from afar he was seen by a heron. "How could I become invisible that I could catch prey in these green areas?", asked the desertcat from the heron. "Climb up the halfway of the Kilimandjaro-mountain and there you will get the answer", yelled the heron. The desertcat climbed being very hungry up the halfway the Kilimandjaro-mountain and there he was seen by a shaman. "How could I become invisible that I could catch prey in these green areas?", asked the desertcat from the shaman. "Go upper the Kilimandjaro-mountain and on the top of the mountain you must roll about in the ashes and sleep a day in the bushes", answered the armoured shaman. After that the shaman spelled and jumped around his fire and threw animal fat into the fire and some colourpowders.

 

The desertcat rolled around in the ashes and slept a day in the bushes on the top of the Kilimandjaro-mountain. The sun was shining very brightly and into the bushes came some stripes of the sunshine. The desertcat sweatted in the bright sunshine. The stripes became, when the sooty sweat colored striped his fur. Then his fur dried in the sunshine. The tiger with stripes came halfway down to "thank" the shaman and ate him, because the shaman did not wear his armour. After this the tiger went to India.That is why tigers are even today having stripes and they are very dangerous.

 

Have you noticed, that some people treat you like a tiger without stripes? They put you to walk, run, climb, sweat and lay that you may earn your "stripes", so that you can catch haul. After you have got your "stripes", you are not at all thankful to your "helpers", but attack, because you are very hungry. In this rat race many have gone over the "wilderness" to reach a greener pasture. Many kind of advisers have come there to meet you. After you have received you "stripes", it has become very hard to come back home. Has this thing has made you evil, like the tiger became? Do you have to hide in bushes, like a tiger?

Jesus has today a prescription to remove ugly and evil "stripes". Let the water of forgiveness and the soap of the the Holy Bible wash your "stripes" away. Dry your clean fur in the sun of mercy and return home to your christian church. There you can rest in the cool cave of the resurrected Jesus Christ away from the deserts heat. There you will be satisfied, because Jesus himself is the Bread of Life. You are no longer to people a dangerous tiger with stripes, but a meek desertcat, who purres.

 

in Finnish