Folktales of India – Tales from Bengal – Four Friends and a Tiger

An abridged version of the famous folktale. Four friends are travelling through the dense forests of bengal. Three of them are extremely clever and learned and consider their fourth friend a lazy but practical fool. In the forest they come across bones of a tiger. One of them decides to show his knowledge by recreating the tiger’s skeleton. The other friend reconstructs the lion’s muscles and structure. They then go about showing their superior powers by breathing life into the Tiger. The fourth friend tries to stop them and warns them of the consequences of their plans. But they do not stop. He climbs a tree before the others foolishly proceeds with their plans. The tiger comes to life and devours the three learned fools. The fourth friends practical nature saves him.