An Itsy-Bitsy Problem

Content Warning: Implied history of persecution; mentions of tiger attacks, coarse language

“Hey, mind giving me a hand with these buckets?"

“You speak my tongue?”

“Sure do. I’m Rohan. What is your name?”

“Sara. When you are done putzing, twist to the right.”

“Thanks for the help. Never met a boy you couldn’t boss around, hmm?”

“On the contrary. You must have heard what happened yesterday by the river.”

“That was you? I thought it was just a story.

“You’re crazy.”

“Toodles.”

“Wait—“

“Come, Itsy-Bitsy.”

***************

"That's a nasty scar. You're young, still developing muscles-"

"What are you doing in our tent?

"Get the hell out."

***************

“You again?”

“Look what I brought. Truce?

“Truce, please?”

“Down, Itsy-Bitsy.”

“Thanks. This meat cost a dozen prayers, my life’s savings, plus dirt. There’s only a few of us left. We’ve got to stick together.”

“I’m fine. I’ve got Itsy-Bitsy, and children that need me to make it to the tent— safely.”

“I saw them the other day when you walked home. They stick out in their school uniforms.”

“You spy on us?”

“Yes, because what are you doing walking around with a baby tiger in your arms? That’s almost worse than what any man could do to you. Think about the kids.”

“Itsy-Bitsy listens to me.”

“I see that. Doesn’t mean Itsy-Bitsy won’t some day go rabid. My grandparents used to deal with these regularly. They are not meant to be tamed, those horrible devils.”

“I said, ‘Itsy-Bitsy listens to me.’”

“I’m sure.

“Okay, okay.

“Look, I’m just afraid that he might some day go hungry, and then what’s the next best target?”

“You look like easy prey.”

“May I tell you a story?”

“It seems to me like you won’t give me a choice.”

“You’re the one with the tiger.

“Once upon a time—”

“Fairy tales will not help feed mouths.”

“Completely true. Once upon a time, there was a lady. She was the model citizen of her town: providing for her family, loving to her kids and her parents and her husband. But she refused to accept bribes or give into any kind of temptation, despite the hardships. When the pirates came and met resistance, she was an easy target—“

“I don’t want to hear this–”

“So she fled across the border. She took her husband and twin infants. Her parents refused to leave. At the border, guess what she met?

“That’s right. A tiger.

“I barely got away. My brother didn’t make it. I only survived because my father knew the best way to escape.”

“How?”

“I don’t know. He never told me.

“Your companion seems sleepy. Maybe that meal was too big for it.”

“He’s growing.”

“What are you gonna do when it outgrows scraps?”

***************

“Oh, pretty kitty!"

“Pretty kitty– with very sharp teeth!”

“Ah!”

“Down, Itsy-Bitsy! It was playful tickles. This toddler is too small to harm anyone."

“Ms. Sara, why do you talk to it?”

“Itsy-Bitsy is blind, not deaf. He needs playtime and attention, just like human kids.”

“He’s nearly the size of Mary’s sister. Mary was telling the class that she had a cousin who was bit by a snake. Tigers aren’t venomous, are they?”

“No–”

“And that just makes them more dangerous. They don’t have markings to warn others to stay away. They have camouflage to ensure they can sneak up on their prey.”

“But, they are colorful.”

“Animals see things we do not, just as we can see things they do not.”

“Don’t listen to him. Rohan is just a troublemaker. Have a fun day at school!”

“Now that the kids are away, we can talk.”

“Rohan, I do not recall anyone inviting you on this walk.”

“I invited myself.”

“Do not lecture me.”

“You and camp security have heard all I have to say a dozen times already. I came to warn you that the locals are taking notice now. You did just stroll through the village with a roaring tiger at your heels and a bucket-- of meat-- of expensive meat. Where did you even get that?

"Don't bite-

"Okay, I'll leave you alone from now on. But just let me first say this: The locals might have no experience with tigers, but they know a threat when they see one.”

“Then they will know to stay away.”

“Or, they will assemble a team to take care of it for good. I’m only trying to help you both and the kids.”

***************

“Now you’ve done it.”

“It’s not my fault–”

“It never is. Just because you found it, fed it, encouraged it–”

“--that he was snuck up on. You have no idea what you speak of.”

“--taught it to fear people who behave differently-”

“He thought she had brought a toy with her. He is blind.”

“Your arrogance has hurt a child. You need to get rid of it.”

“No. No, I won’t.”

“So it seems.

“You were lucky. If it had been one of the majority it attacked, they would have taken pitchforks and you. Many people have tried taming these creatures. What makes you think you’ll be different?”

“You will not touch him.”

“Then do the right thing.”

***************

“Let me tell you a bedtime story. Once upon a time, there was a lady, the fiercest in her pack, the provider neighbors depended on yet feared. She was chopping a cucumber when the pirates stormed her home and set it ablaze.

"She called his name. And called, and called, and filled buckets with water, and called, and carried the water to the fire. No luck.

"The sun had set, the fire had dimmed, and the boy was still missing.

“She stumbled into the swamp with nothing more than the cooking knife. She was lost and hungry and tired when she found him: tiny and motherless and scarred. He could not see, so he could not attack.

“She fell on her knees and kissed the cub. 'God had given us both a second chance,' she exclaimed. So the woman shared her meals. She taught the creature to hunt and to protect. Life was difficult but blissful for a few day– until the day she grew too curious.

“She carried the cub through her village. The air tingled with ash. The village was not large. She knew that only one person in the village had a femur like the one she stepped on.

"She might have given up then, but she heard a cry. Somehow, others survived.

“The woman had no choice but to seek human habitation. You children need to feel the warmth of touch and a fully belly and to learn language and right from wrong, left from right. But if one thing is true, it's that most humans here cannot understand the sacrifices it takes to survive.

“It’s better that you sleep through tonight. Goodbyes are painful.

“Isn’t that right, Sara?

“You have no idea what I am saying. It’s better this way.”