The Tiger’s Knock

Timma’s wife had gone to her mother’s house and he invited three of his friends for a game of cards. They played in silence for a while enjoying the cosy comfort of the house. Outside it was cold and windy and a light rain started to fall.

Finally one of the men, Vinay, broke the silence. “Have you heard?” he said and stopped. “Heard what?” asked Timma.

“About the tiger who goes around knocking on people’s doors at night.”

“A tiger who knocks on doors!” exclaimed Dondu, the strongest of the group. “I don’t believe it!”

“Neither do I”, said Vinay hastily. “I just heard it being told, that’s all.”

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. The men froze. “S-somebody’s knocking,” said Pico, the fourth man. Timma got up to open the door. “No!” said Vinay, catching hold of his hand. “Don’t open it! It could be the tiger!!”

“Don’t talk nonsense!” said Dondu. “Tigers don’t knock on doors – or do they?”

“This one does,” said Vinay. “They say it calls out the person’s name too. When the person opens the door – it tears him apart!” The knocking began again. “I-It’s calling out…I mean I heard my name being called,” said Timma, the blood draining from his face. “Close the windows,” whispered Pico. Vinay rushed to obey him.

The knocking became louder and then stopped.

It was Timma’s wife who had returned and was knocking on the door. When her husband failed to respond, she became worried and called the neighbours.

They decided to break down the door.

The men inside thought the tiger had redoubled its efforts to get in and cowered in fright. Finally the door gave way and Timma’s wife and her neighbours streamed in.

Timma and his friends however, did not wait to see who had entered. The fear-crazed men rushed to the rear of the house, flung open the back door and ran screaming into the night.