The Lady, or the Tiger?

The Semi-Barbaric King

Long ago, a semi-barbaric king ruled over a kingdom with complete authority. He had unusual ideas about justice and believed that his decisions were always fair. Whenever someone was accused of a serious crime, the king did not allow a judge or jury to decide whether that person was guilty. Instead, the accused person was taken to a large public arena filled with spectators. The king believed that chance should determine the person's fate. Although his system was cruel and dangerous, the people of the kingdom considered the trials exciting entertainment. They gathered in the arena to watch and waited to discover what would happen to the accused person.

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The Two Doors

Inside the arena were two identical doors placed next to each other. The accused person had to walk across the arena and select one of them. Behind one door waited a fierce and hungry tiger. If the person opened that door, the tiger would attack and kill them, proving that they were guilty. Behind the other door waited a beautiful young woman selected by the king. If the accused person opened her door, they would immediately be declared innocent and required to marry her. It did not matter if the person was already married or loved someone else. Because the doors looked exactly alike, no one knew which choice would lead to marriage and which would lead to death.

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The Princess and Her Lover

The king had a beautiful daughter who shared his passionate and semi-barbaric personality. She secretly fell in love with a brave young man who worked in the royal court. He was handsome and honorable, but his social position was much lower than hers. When the king discovered their relationship, he became furious because he believed the young man was not worthy of marrying a princess. He had the young man arrested and scheduled a public trial in the arena. The king searched throughout his kingdom for the fiercest tiger and the most beautiful young woman he could find. He wanted the trial to be dramatic, regardless of which door the young man selected.

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The Princess Learns the Secret

The princess was determined to discover what waited behind each door. Because she was the king's daughter, she had enough money and influence to obtain the secret information. She learned which door concealed the tiger and which concealed the lady. However, this knowledge created a terrible problem. The princess recognized the young woman selected to marry her lover, and she had seen the woman looking at him before. The princess became intensely jealous. She hated imagining her lover being killed by the tiger, but she also hated imagining him surviving and marrying another woman. She spent many sleepless nights deciding which fate would be easier to accept.

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The Trial

On the day of the trial, the arena was crowded with people. The king and princess sat above the spectators while the young man entered below. He did not look toward the king or the crowd because he knew that only the princess could help him. When he looked at her, his expression silently asked which door he should open. The princess had expected this moment and had already made her decision. Without speaking, she quickly moved her hand toward the door on the right. The movement was so small that no one else noticed it. The young man trusted her completely. Without hesitating, he crossed the arena and reached for the door she had selected.

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The Final Choice

The young man opened the door on the right, but the story never reveals what came out. The princess may have saved him by directing him toward the lady, even though she knew she would lose him forever. However, her jealousy and semi-barbaric nature may have caused her to direct him toward the tiger instead. She loved him deeply, but she also struggled with the thought of watching him marry someone else. Readers must decide which emotion was stronger: her love or her jealousy. Did she allow her lover to live with another woman, or did she choose a tragic ending that prevented anyone else from having him?

Which came through the open door—the lady or the tiger?

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