Chapter the-tiger-king: The Tiger King | Short Questions

The Maharaja issued a strict proclamation completely banning tiger hunting for everyone in Pratibandapuram except himself. This extreme measure was taken because he was deeply obsessed with his personal vow to kill exactly one hundred tigers to safely disprove the astrologer's deadly prediction. He feared that if others hunted the tigers, the local population would quickly deplete, making it impossible for him to achieve his target. Anyone who even flung a stone at a tiger would have their entire property and wealth confiscated immediately.

After successfully hunting seventy tigers within ten years, the tiger population in Pratibandapuram forests became entirely extinct, bringing his mission to a sudden halt. To solve this unexpected crisis, the Maharaja logically decided to get married. He specifically ordered his dewan to find a suitable royal bride from a neighboring native state that possessed a very large tiger population. This strategic marriage allowed him to freely hunt tigers in his father-in-law's kingdom whenever he visited, successfully increasing his tally to ninety-nine kills.

The Maharaja desperately needed to appease a powerful British officer after firmly refusing him permission to hunt a tiger or even take a photograph with a dead one. Fearing he might completely lose his kingdom due to the angered officer's influence, the king decided to bribe him. He sent fifty incredibly expensive diamond rings to the officer's wife, the duraisani, expecting her to keep one or two. Instead, she greedily kept them all, costing the king three lakh rupees to save his threatened throne.

When the hunters approached the fallen hundredth tiger, they quickly realized that the Maharaja's bullet had entirely missed its mark, and the beast had merely fainted from the immense shock. However, they were absolutely terrified of the king's notorious temper and unreasonable cruelty. They knew that if the Maharaja discovered his failure, they would immediately lose their jobs or face severe punishment. To protect themselves, one hunter quietly shot the tiger from a close distance, completely hiding the truth from the boastful king.

The hundredth tiger that actually caused the king's death was not a real animal, but a cheap wooden toy he bought for his son's birthday. The toy was poorly carved by an unskilled carpenter, with tiny, rough slivers of wood sticking out. While playing, one sharp sliver deeply pierced the king's right hand. He neglected it, and a severe, festering infection quickly spread throughout his entire arm. Despite the desperate efforts of three famous surgeons, the king died, fulfilling the astrologer's inescapable prophecy.