The tiger and the butterfly

The human cub

In a time where animals lived together in harmony, a tiger stumbled upon a human child; the first human he had ever seen. He told the other animals, who on their part could not believe what they had heard. "Silly tiger, you're making it up. Humans don't come near the wild life, it's forbidden!Besides, you've never seen one before", said ox. "That's bullshit!", rat squeaked. "Calm down everyone, maybe it's true. Those two-leggers always travel around so maybe it is lost?", horse explained. "Well I know what I saw. I'm going back for it. Maybe I can help it find it's way", tiger said and turned around swiftly. "A human! It must have been.....right?! This one is rather small. From what I've heard, they should at least stand face to face with a tiger on their hind legs. Could it be.....a cub? Alone? In the wild? It can't be! Why would humans leave their cub behind? Was it weak?". With every step, tiger started questioning the situation more and more. The human cub was still on the same spot that tiger had seen it. "It's alive!", tiger gasped. "What's your name, little one?". No response. "Oh, you probably don't understand yet". The human cub opened its eyes and stared at the tiger in either awe or wonder. It raised its small palm and gently pressed it against tiger's chin. A warmth which tiger had never felt before, came over him like an overwhelming wave of emotions and instinct. The cub had to be protected!

"What in the name of the almighty dragon do you want? I chewed your fish for you, bathed you, gave you water.....what more could you possibly want? What am I missing? Is this the language you speak?". Tiger did everything he could to understand the cub, but it was so loud and fragile. Tiger started panicking, pacing back and forth. "Milk!!! Why didn't I think of that before? Rabbit! Rabbit, are you around? There's a cub I gotta feed!", tiger whispered into the rabbit's den. "Oh really? And you thought I would easily give myself up for a meal? Do I look dumb? Or perhaps you thought you were smart, looking desperate to feed one of your own when you obviously haven't planted your seed?", rabbit said as she threw dirt into tiger's nose. "No, come see for yourself. I promise I will do you no harm. The cub is not one of my own but he's seemingly very hungry, he won't keep quiet". The rabbit could not believe her eyes. "A human!" She exclaimed. "Yes, a human cub". While tiger explained his experience with his first human, rabbit continued to feed the hungry cub until it fell asleep. "If you're going to raise it as your own, you have to give it a name to respond to. What will you call it?", rabbit asked. "Hmmm..... I haven't thought about it. He's like a storm when he doesn't get what he wants, so I didn't really have the time to name him haha. Hmm..what about Xìngyùn? I mean.....fortunately for him, I found him....so he's pretty lucky haha". "What makes you so sure it's a he?", rabbit giggled. "Ah well....its.....tail is at the wrong end...i-if you get what I mean", tiger stuttered, almost embarrassed about how he described a penis to a mature rabbit, a mother of a den full of rabbits. "Thank you, how can I ever repay you?". "Keep peeing on my vegetables, hihi. I kid you not, they grow faster, bigger and taste richer when you do".