The "semi-barbaric" king of an ancient land uses a unique form of trial by ordeal for those in his realm accused

of crimes significant enough to interest him. The man is placed alone in an arena before two curtain-draped doors, as hordes of the king's subjects look on from the stands. Behind one door is a woman appropriate to the accused's station and approved for him by the king; behind the other is a fierce (and nearly starved) tiger. The accused then must choose a door. If by luck (or, if one prefers, the will of heaven) he picks the door with the woman behind it, he is declared innocent and set free, but he is required to marry the woman on the spot, regardless of his wishes or his marital status. If he picks the door with the tiger behind it, the hungry beast immediately pounces upon him--his guilt thus manifest, supposedly. When the king discovers that his daughter, the princess, has taken a lover far beneath her station, the fellow is an obvious candidate for trial in the arena. On the day of his ordeal, the lover looks from the arena to the princess, who is watching in the stands, for some indication of which door to pick. Even the king doesn't know which door hides the maiden, but the princess has made it her business to find out, as her lover knew she would. She makes a slight but definite gesture to the right, which the young man follows immediately and without hesitation. As the door opens, the author interjects, "Now, the point of the story is this: Did the tiger come out of that door, or did the lady?" The author then playfully sets out for the reader the dimensions of the princess's dilemma, and that of the reader in answering the question he has posed. The reader is told that the princess knew and "hated" the waiting maiden, one of her attendants, whom she suspected of being infatuated with the princess's lover. The princess, the reader must keep in mind, is "semi-barbaric," too, or she wouldn't have come to witness the ordeal at all; and though she has shrieked when struck by the thought of her lover torn to bits before her eyes, the thought of his dancing out of the arena with his blushing bride has afflicted her more sharply, and more often. In either case, the princess knows her lover is lost to her forever. She has agonized over her decision, but by the time she arrives at the arena, she is resolute, and she makes her gesture to the right unhesitatingly. The author denies being in a position to answer his question with authority, and the story ends with the famous line, "And so I leave it with all of you: Which came out of the opened door - the lady, or the tiger?

The Lady of the Tiger

Frank R. Stockton
BACKGROUND This story is a fairy tale. It has all the fairy tale ingredients: kings, queens, moral of the story etc. MAIN CHARACTERS King: He has a weird system of justice involving a lady and a tiger. King's daughter: She loves this young courtier in the king's court. She has quite a temper though Courtier: He loves the princess. PLOT

Long time ago there was this king. When someone broke the law he had a specific punishment. He would put the person in an arena and make them choose between 2 doors. One door had a beautiful lady behind it that he would marry. The other door had a tiger behind it that would kill him. People loved this because the criminal chose their own fate. One time this young courtier started screwing the princess (King's daughter). He was in the lower class, so because of this embarrassment, the king decided to put the guy in the arena. The King went out and found the biggest tiger and the most beautiful woman. The princess found out who the woman behind the door would be. It was some chick who liked the courtier and flirted with him. She realized if he picked her they would have to marry. Then the princess uses her power to find out what which door the tiger would be behind and what door the lady would be behind. When the day came, the courtier came out and looked at the princess for help. She pointed to the right door. The story ends here. THINGS TO MAKE YOU LOOK SMART

Here is the thing about the ending: We don't know the fate of the courtier. The princess knew the placement of the lady and the tiger. BUT, does she save her lover from the tiger? Or does she save herself the jealousy of having her lover marry the woman. On the one hand the guy would get killed. On the other, she would have to watch as he married some lady that she hated. We never find out the end. You have to decide what happens.

It's an interesting story. There's this king that punishes criminals rather creatively. He puts them in an arena. The only way out is to pick one of two doors. Behind one is a beautiful woman. Behind the other is a vicious tiger. If they pick the tiger, gory death ensues. If they pick the lady, the offender is deemed innocent, but must marry the woman (regardless of previous marital status).One day the king finds out his daughter has taken a lover far below her station. His Royal Chauvinist can't have that and arranges for the man to be put in the arena for 'trial'. Her lover looks to the princess for some indication of what to do. She knows which door is which, but is faced with a difficult decision. If she directs him to the tiger, he dies. If she directs him to the woman (whom she happens to hate), she has to see this man she loves marry another. The question of her choice is left unanswered. Quite thought-provoking, isn't it?