One evening, a child was lying down on the ground. Happily watching the evening sky.

Sometimes the boy would get up, and check on his fishing rod. He would stay and inhale the fresh air, the beautiful scenery of the river, and lie down again.

Suddenly…

ROAR!!!

The boy was unperturbed. He didn't even got up. Only his head was turned to the left. “Oh, hello there Mr Tiger.”

The tiger, with its majestic golden fur with black stripes, stared hungrily at the small child. The growling of its stomach rivaled the growling of its throat. Anybody would have soiled themselves if they even caught glimpses of the tiger the size of a motorcycle.

But perhaps, this boy is not just anybody. He certainly did not act like anybody else.

ROAR!!!

The boy smiled as he slowly got up. “Are you hungry, Mr Tiger? Do you want some fish?”

The tiger's pose was worrisome. Muscles clenched tight, body lowered to the ground like a frog, clearly a sign its about to pounce and maul the boy. And he just joyfully laid out some fish that he caught. Right in front of the tiger's nose.

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Weirdly enough, the muscles on the tiger relaxed. It sniffed on the fresh fish, and chomped on it. 

“Awhh, pure kitty. Eat up, Mr Tiger. Don't worry. I have more.”

As the tiger was enjoying its first meal of the day, the boy came and stroked the back of the tiger's neck. “Hmmm, so soft. No wonder in the television, they turned you into a carpet.”

The tiger stopped eating, and glared at the boy.

“Hehehe, sorry Mr Tiger.” The boy chuckled awkwardly. The tiger continued eating.

Just then, another voice called out for the boy.

“Izzy! Izzy! Where are you?”

Izwan stopped touching the tiger, and turned around. “I'm here, mommy.”

From the forest path, appeared a lady in her thirties. “What did I tell you earlier? I told you to come home earlier!”

“Awh mom…! It's still early. And the house is right there. I could run home in a minute.”

“Pfft, a minute. Who? You? The only time you ran is when dad told you to practice your kuntau.”

As Zarina and Izwan kept bickering, the tiger continued eating. What a peculiar sight? Even the mom was not the slightest bit alarmed with the presence of the tiger.

Finally, Zarina had had enough. “Enough! Just go and take a bath. You need to get ready for tonight.”

“Fine…!” Izwan retorted. Then his smile returned as he turned back to the tiger. “See you tomorrow, okay Mr Tiger?” And left to go home.

The tiger watched the boy run home. He may not reached the back door in a minute, but the short distance made his travel last only a few minutes.

Zarina took a few steps towards home as well, before stopping. “Oy you! You overgrown pussy!”

Suddenly, a chilling sensation invaded the tiger. It was like being jumped by a rival tiger challenging its autonomy on this land. The lady was scary for sure.

“If you ever threaten to harm my son again, I will turn you into a carpet myself. You got that?!”

The tiger nodded. Had this not been a serious warning, it would be very comedic. 

“Finished eating, then go back!” And she left.

The tiger, thankful that there's only one fish left to finish, did not linger as well. It grabbed the fish with its mouth, and ran away.

In its heart, the tiger gave its thanks to the lord.

It does not want to be turned into a carpet.