Fighting the Invisible Tiger
There
once was a man named Patrio who left his family and friends each day, abandoning
them to the dangers of the jungle where they lived in a tiny thatched hut in a
small clearing.
 "Where are you going, papa?" Muher, his
oldest son, would ask, wishing his daddy would stay home and teach him how to be
a man and a leader of men who someday would teach his own sons to grow up and be
good men.
Proudly, pulling himself erect and getting the
most fierce look on his face he could muster, Patrio proudly proclaimed,
"I'm off to kill the invisible tiger, little one. It's a very important
job. I'm a very important man. The tiger must be killed, or he will come here
someday and eat all my children alive!"
Muher always jumped back at the thought of being
eaten alive! Though he was the oldest, he was still a small boy with many
superstitions that confused him and caused him to make bad decisions sometimes.
"Please stay home and teach me the
Rules of Truth." Muher begged.
Patrio paused, placing his hand on the young
lad's shoulder, "A man must do what a man must do," he offered.
"You be a good boy and take care of your mother and the other children
while I'm gone."
So, off went Patrio with his long spear in one
hand and a small woven bag in the other.
Sometimes the children gathered by the hut to
watch their father disappear into the thick vines and foliage at the edge of the
clearing, waving their tiny hands and calling out, "Be careful,
daddy." They were so proud of him. What courage. What determination. They
all wanted to be like him when they got older. Then they could fight the
invisible tiger, too!
One day a tall medicine man came into the
clearing, wearing face-paint and a hideously frightening headpiece. He was very
menacing. His eyes had a reddish light that burned within him as if fueled from
an ancient fire of evil origin.
"Where is the oldest son?" he demanded
of Muher's mother who pulled all her children aside to hide them behind her
back. "I've come for the oldest! My name is Deceit. I will have my way with
you because you have no defense against me. No man will challenge me."
Muher's mother huddled her children behind her,
holding the baby in her arms, shooing Muher back each time he tried to come
forward from behind her worn and faded skirt.
"Don't you know I can put a curse on you
woman, and all your children will die?"
The frightened mother held more tightly to her
baby, and the huddle of terrified children behind her tightened.
"I wish only the one child this time. I will
come back for the others."
Muher's mother stepped a few inches forward and
spoke. "If Patrio were here, he'd kill you!"
The giant, evil-looking witch doctor put his
massive muscular hands on his hips, leaned back and let out a roar of laughter
that could be heard for miles within the jungle. "Your Patrio is sleeping
down by the river. He is no warrior. He goes there every day because he is
afraid to face me."
At this the woman's resolve was relaxed as she
contemplated the possible truth of this proclamation, so boldly made, so
confidently stated, even by such a fierce looking personage as the witch doctor.
As the woman's guard was down for a moment the witch doctor moved toward them
suddenly, knocked Muher's mother aside, and dispersed the crowd of children
until only Muher stood alone against Deceit.
"My father is a courageous man!" Muher
bravely challenged the ugly-faced creature before him. "My father is
fighting the invisible tiger."
The worker of lies reached forward and grabbed
Muher by the wrist, tightening his grip like an iron band, and lifted Muher off
his feet. He held the boy high like a hunter might hold up his slaughtered prize
for others to see. "Look, mother. Look children. This is the price of
Patrio's 'fighting' the invisible tiger."
With this, the witch doctor stuffed poor Muher in
a large woven bag, threw the bag over his shoulder, and proudly turned to leave
the frightened woman and her children behind. "I'll be back!" he
threatened. "Tell Patrio I have his son."
That evening, when Patrio returned to the
village, his wife greeted him with icy silence. "Where have you been all
day?" she demanded.
"I've been stalking the invisible tiger,
woman," he said with pride in his voice as if stalking the invisible tiger
were the most honorable thing a man could possibly do, a duty the women should
respect and honor.
"Muher is gone! The witch doctor Deceit came
and took him while you were sleeping."
Patrio appeared stunned for a moment, then
regaining his composure said, "I will miss Muher, but the invisible tiger
must be killed," and with this he shrugged off the weeping woman and
entered his hut.
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