Page:Folk Tales from Tibet (1906).djvu/20

2 "What are you eating, Brother Hare?" asked the Tiger.

"I am eating my eye, Uncle Tiger," replied the Hare. "I have taken it out and eaten it; it is very nice, and it soon grows again."

The Tiger was rather surprised at hearing this, but being very hungry he proceeded to scrape out his own eye and eat it up. After going a little further the Hare again began smacking his lips, as if he was eating something.

"What are you eating now, Brother Hare?" asked the Tiger.

"I am eating my other eye, Uncle Tiger," replied the Hare; "it is even better than the first."

The foolish Tiger on hearing this proceeded to scrape out his other eye and eat that.

The Tiger was now quite blind, and the Hare led him along to the brink of a deep gulf, where he advised the Tiger to sit down and rest for a while. And after the Tiger was seated, the Hare said:

"Don't you find it cold, Uncle Tiger? shall I light you a fire?"

"Yes, please, Brother Hare," said the Tiger, "I think a fire would be very pleasant."

So the Hare lighted a fire just in front of the Tiger, and when it was blazing up he kept putting the sticks nearer and nearer the Tiger, so that the Tiger was obliged to keep edging further and further away, when all of a sudden he toppled over backwards into the gulf behind. Now it happened that half-way down the