the squirrel and a tiger

once there was a little squirrel
that lost its father in a hunting accident
his mother brought him up
well and good, teaching it right ways and all
giving him the best of nuts, the ripest of acorns
nice little bits of hay made from the fresh sun
plums and fruit from all over
to make up for the lack of a father
the squirrel had but one friend
a tiger despised by all
for its wild ways and inhuman touch
but the squirrel used to ride on the back of the tiger
humming happy tunes
mistaking him sometimes for its father
the tiger was bold, strong and fierce
nobody dared disturbed the squirrel
when it nestled in the fur of its friend
they camped, went hunting and fishing together
in winter, the squirrel saved up meat
in little neat bundles hidden in the trees
with bits of salt to keep it alive
one day, the tiger was hunted for its skin
and tied and taken to a river far away
as the hunters prepared to kill it
the other animals told the squirrel
ha, ha, ha - your cruel tiger is dead
he has died in the wild
he has abandoned you
and poor squirrel did a bungee jump
into the river next to its acorn tree
nearly drowning,
when suddenly the tiger broke himself loose
and came raging through the midnight forest
seeing squirrel, he jumped into the river
in a desperate attempt to save its little friend
as squirrel opened his eyes in fear
he saw his tiger and said :
tiger, the other animals said you had abandoned me,
that's why i jumped
because death was better than a life of loneliness and fear
as tiger held him and brought him to the banks of the river,
he made a vow never to abandon his friend again
but it was too late
squirrel died that very night
and the next day tiger rampaged through Animal Farm
killing, slaughtering all the other animals
before killing all the hunters as well
before roaming into a desert in the far north
never to be seen again
wild, restless, gloating, proud and merciless
for squirrel had tempered its ugliness into beauty
and made a jungle
into paradise ...