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TOUCHY
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In the very olden time there lived a semi-barbaric king. He was a man of exuberant fancy, and, with all of an authority so irresistible that, at his will, he turned his varied fancies into facts.
When a person was accused of a crime, public notice was given that on an appointed day the fate of the accused person would be decided in the king's Arena.
When all the people had assembled in the galleries, and the king, surrounded by his court, sat on his throne on one side of the Arena, he gave a signal, a door beneath him opened, and the accused person stepped out into the amphitheater.
Directly opposite him, on the other side of the closed space, were two doors, exactly alike and side-by-side. It was the duty and the privilege of the person on trial to walk directly to these doors and open one of them. He could open either door he pleased; he was subject to no guidance or influence.
If he opened the one, there came out of it a hungry tiger, the fiercest and cruelest that could be procured, which immediately sprang upon him and tore him to pieces as a punishment for his guilt. But, if opened the other door, there came forth from it a lady, and to this lady he was immediately married, as a reward of his innocence.
This was the king's semi-barbaric method of administering justice. The accused could not know out of which door would come the lady; he opened either he pleased, without having the slightest idea whether, in the next instant, he was to be devoured or married.
This king had a daughter as blooming as his most florid fancies. As is usual in such cases, she was the apple of his eye, and was loved by him above all humanity.
Among his courtiers was a young man of that fineness of blood and lowness of station common to the conventional heroes of romance who love royal maidens, with whom the princess was deeply in love. This love affair moved on happily for many months, until one day the king happened to discover its existence. He did not hesitate nor waver in regard to his duty in the premises. The youth was immediately cast into prison, and a day was appointed for his trial in the king's Arena.
The appointed day arrived. From far and near the people gathered. The king and his court were in their places, opposite the twin doors, those fateful portals, so terrible in their similarity. All was ready. The signal was given. As the youth advanced into the arena he turned, his eyes were fixed upon the princess, who sat to the right of her father.
She knew behind which door crouched the tiger, and behind which stood the lady. Then it was that his quick and anxious glance asked the question: "Which?" The question was asked in a flash; it must be answered in another. Her right arm lay on the cushioned parapet before her. She raised her hand, and made a slight, quick movement toward the right. No one but her lover saw her.
He turned, and with a firm and rapid step he walked across the empty space. Every heart stopped beating, every breath was held, and every eye was fixed immovably upon that man. Without the slightest hesitation, he went to the door on the right, and opened it…
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Now, the point of the story is this: Did the tiger come out of that door, or did the lady?
The more we reflect upon this question, the harder it is to answer. It involves a study of the human heart, which leads us through devious mazes of passion, out of which it is difficult to find our way. Think of it, fair reader, she had lost him, but who should have him?
And so I leave it with all of you: Which came out of the opened door, - the lady, or the tiger?
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I told this story and asked her if you were the princess, which one would come out from the door.
With out a second thought she replied THE TIGER!!!
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