Brains Versus Brawn

The fox had just finished a breakfast of berries, and he decided to take a drink at the watering hole. Since he had his head down, he couldn't hear the rustling behind him. And by the time he picked his head up, it was too late. A huge tiger had jumped out in front of the him snarling and drooling. The fox knew he couldn't outrun the tiger, so he decided to go for a long shot.

"You're in luck," said the fox. "You see this?" pointing to the red berry stains on his whiskers. "I just finished eating another tiger for breakfast. So I am not hungry at the moment. Therefore, I am willing to give you a break and let you go."

"WHAT?!" snarled the tiger. "What are you talking about? I have been wandering around lost for days looking for a decent meal. It is ME who is going to eat you."

"HAHAHA!" laughed the fox. "You must be new this this part of the forest. I guess you've never heard of me, the most ferocious fox in the whole forest. I am feared by all the other animals here."

"A small runt like you?" replied the tiger. "Give me a break."

"So you don't believe me, eh? Tell you what, I can prove it. We will walk around and you can see how all the other animals fear me," proposed the fox.

Of course, the tiger still didn't believe him. But he was too curious to pass up the offer. (He was essentially a cat, after all.) And he knew that he could outrun the fox if he had to, so he accepted. "Fine. I can wait a few minutes to eat you."

So the fox brought the tiger behind the bushes of a small clearing, where there were a family of monkeys.

"Now," whispered the fox, "on a count of three, we will jump out and you will see how afraid the monkeys are of me. Ready? One, two, THREE!"

The fox and the tiger jumped out of the bushes as the fox barked "ARF! ARF!". The monkeys were not frightened by the barking of course, but it did get their attention enough for them to look up. And upon seeing the ferocious tiger behind the fox, the monkeys all immediately ran away.

"See? Told you that would happen," said the fox proudly.

The tiger stood there with eyes wide open in disbelief. He did not pick up on the fact that the monkeys were running away from him, not the fox.

"Th...th...th... that was a fluke. It...it...it must have been a bunch of timid monkeys," stuttered the tiger. Meanwhile, he couldn't believe what he just saw.

"Not convinced, eh? Fine. Let me prove it again."

So next, the fox brought the tiger to another watering hole where deer were drinking. They hid behind a tree, and the fox started again with the same routine. "Again, we will jump out on a count of three and you just watch their reactions."

"One, two, THREE!"

"ARF! ARF!" barked the fox as the fox and tiger jumped out from behind the tree. And of course, the same thing happened. All the deer ran off as fast as they could.

"See? Even animals much bigger than I am are terrified of me," exclaimed the fox.

This time, the tiger was even more stunned. All he could do was stand there with his jaw hanging. Finally, the tiger muttered, "It must be a fluke. Maybe all the deer just decided to leave at once." All the while, the tiger stared at this tiny little fox in disbelief.

"Still not satisifed, eh?" asked the fox. "Fine, I will prove it to you one more time. But this is the last time. I am beginning to get a little impatient. And you don't want me to change my mind about letting you go."

The fox then brought the tiger to an open field where a herd of giraffes where grazing. And once again, "ARF! ARF!" as the two ran into the field. And of course, all the giraffes scattered.

This time, the tiger was simply speechless.

"HAHAHA! See? Even these huge animals are all running scared," yelled the fox, speaking as if he were king of the jungle. "Now, since I am feeling generous, I will keep my promise and let you go."

Taking advantage of the tiger's stunned and confused state, the fox scampered off as quickly as he could, knowing that he had just gotten away with murder.