Babri, The Little Tiger
By Golafshan Hassan Zadeh Moghimi
Tehran, Iran

In a deep dark part of a jungle a little tiger was living with his
parents. His name was Babri. His den was among thick bushes and he lived there happily with his mother and father. Babri's only friend was Roobi, a little fox who was their neighbor.

It was really a beautiful jungle; full of different colorful flowers,
thick planets, and very big tall trees. A great variety of animals lived there. The sun brightened the jungle in a dreamful way at daytime. Different birds lived and sang among the branches. At night the birds, frogs, and crickets sang a lullaby gently to the animals. Babri loved all of the animals and their sounds and enjoyed living there. He and Roobi played together all day long.

One day Roobi became sick and couldn't come to play. Babri's mum and dad were out and he was alone. He got bored and said to himself "This is a very big jungle with lots of animals. I'll go out and find new friends." So he went out in the jungle and was walking along when he heard laughing and singing. He looked through the bushes and saw lots of baby animals, such as rabbits, fawns, monkeys, and squirrels, playing together. He became very happy and jumped out of the bushes to play with them. But when they saw him, they screamed and ran away! He was surprised and called to them. But nobody came.
He looked up and saw the baby monkeys and squirrels in the trees. "Why did you run away?" he asked. "My name is Babri and I want to play with you." A monkey said "Go away. We don't want to play with you. You are a hunter and will eat us. We can not be your friend. Go home."

Babri became very sad. He ran home crying. When he reached home his parents were there. They were worried about him. His father wanted to punish him for going out without permission, but when he saw that Babri was crying, he decided not to make him sadder.

"Where were you? What's the matter?" his mother asked. And Babri told his parents what had happened and added "I don't want to be a hunter. I don't want to kill animals for food. I want to be a vegetarian. I'm very sorry that I'm your son; the son of a tiger."

"Don't think that way. Most of the animals are hunters." His father continued, "Frogs hunt insects. Birds hunt worms and fish. Big animals hunt little animals. It is nature's law. Let me give you an example: If we don't hunt rabbits, they will multiply and soon they will not be able to find enough food. If theyl eat all the plants, what will the other vegetarians do for food? So you see that being a hunter and a carnivore is not bad as long as your never hunt more than you need."

Babri stopped crying. He was very proud of his father and thought he was very wise. He didn't forget his father's words as he grew up. Babri loved all the animals and together they shared the delicate balance of nature within the beauty of the jungle.

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