The Tiger King Summary in English || Class 12

The Tiger King Summary in English 

The Maharaja of Pratibandapuram was popularly known as the Tiger king. He had taken a vow to kill one hundred tigers before he did anything worthwhile. There is a story about why he took the vow and how he fulfilled it.

 When the king was born the royal astrologers predicted that one day he must die. The nine-day baby amazed everybody when he said, "O,  wise astrologers, we know that all must die. It is no prediction. Tell me how I will die". Then the astrologers said, " The baby-prince was born in the hour of the Bull. The Bull and the tiger are enemies. So, the Tiger will kill the Bull".
 But this prediction did not frighten the little boy. He said, "Let the tigers beware".
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 The little prince was brought up like any other prince of the Indian State. He drank the milk of an English cow, he was brought up by an English teacher, He watched only English films. The young prince came of age at twenty. He became the king of Pratibandapuram.

 Now the king thought of the astrologer's prediction. He decided to kill a tiger. He believed that the tiger was his enemy and he must kill him in self-defense.


 There were many tigers in the forests of the state. He went into a forest and killed his first tiger. He was happy. He proved that he was stronger than the tiger. He also believed that he had proved the prediction wrong. So he sent for the royal astrologer.

 The royal astrologer stuck to his prediction. He said the danger to the king's life was not over. He explained that the king might kill ninety-nine tigers in that fashion but the hundredth tiger could prove dangerous. He must be cautious to deal with the hundredth tiger.

 The king decided there and then to kill one hundred tigers before paying attention to the affairs of the state. He proclaimed that nobody could kill a tiger in his kingdom, only he would kill tigers. Then he began to kill tigers and killed quite a number of them in a few months.

 During those days a high-ranking British officer visited Pratibandapuram. He wanted to go on a hunting expedition, kill a tiger and get himself photographed with the dead tiger. But the king refused to grant permission. The officer was not keen on killing a tiger. So the actual killing could be done by the Maharaja. But the Maharaja did not agree even to this.
 This refusal could the king his throne.

 The Dewan and the king discussed how they could save the throne. So they asked an English company of jewelers in Calcutta to send fifty chosen samples of diamond rings. The rings arrived. They were sent to the wife of the British officer. It was hoped that she would choose one or two out of them. But she accepted them all as King's gift. This cost king three lakh rupees. But now his throne was safe.
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 The king continued to kill tigers in his forests. He killed seventy of them. But now no tiger was left. So he decided to marry the daughter of a king whose forests had a large number of tigers. The Dewan found a state that had a large number of tigers and a marriageable daughter. The king was married. Every time he visited his father-in-law he would kill a few tigers. At last, he had killed ninety-nine tigers in all.

 Now the king could find no tiger alive either in his own forests or in his father-in-law's forests. He also knew the astrologer's prediction. He must kill the hundredth tiger to be safe. At last, he learned that sheep were disappearing fast in a hillside village. It was presumed that there was a tiger. So the king went there. He set up his camp and decided not to leave till he had accomplished his mission. But no tiger appeared. The king grew impatient.
 
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 The king called his Dewan and expressed his displeasure. This Dewan felt that he might lose his job if the king did not get the hundredth tiger.

 He had an old tiger hidden in his house. At night the Dewan and his old wife managed to get the tiger into their car. Then they drove to the forest where the king was camping. They tried to push the tiger out of the car but the tiger refused to move. With great difficulty, they were able to push him out and leave him behind there.


 Next morning the poor old tiger was sighted. The king shot at it. The tiger collapsed at once. The king was happy. He believed he had accomplished his mission. He ordered that the tiger should be carried to the town in a grand procession. Then he left. But the hunters found that the tiger was alive. The king had missed his mark. The bullet had gone whizzing past the tiger's ears. It had fainted with the shock. But the hunters wanted to keep it a secret from the Maharaja. So one of them shot the tiger dead.

 It was a day of celebration for the king. The king was taken out in a procession through the town. Then it was buried and a tomb was raised over it.

 Now the king felt that he was safe. After a few days, it was the birthday of his son. The king wished to give him a suitable present. He chooses a wooden tiger toy. It was an ordinary toy, carved by unskilled hands. It had slivers all over. The shopkeeper said that it was worth three hundred rupees. But the king took it away as a free gift.

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 The king and his son were playing with the wooden tiger. A silver pierced the king's hand. He removed it. But the infection developed into a terrible sore. Surgeons from Chennai operated upon the king. In the end, the surgeons announced, " The operation was successful. The king is dead.

 Ironically, the mighty king who had killed ninety-nine living tigers was killed by a wooden tiger. Thus, the king was killed the way it was predicted.