sjsprWriting

Years ago, before the humans walked on Earth, all animals followed the circle of life, also known as the food chain. There was abundance of bugs, fish, deer, and much more for animals to feast upon. Life was easy and simple. There was no struggle for animals to get food. Once humans began to live on the planet, everything changed. Animals had to compete for their food against humans. Once the first arrow was shot, the cycle of life changed. For the tiger, with its solid bright coat, it became harder to survive. With such a scare population of deer, it was hard to hide their big long bodies without being seen. One day, the pack leader of the tigers noticed a family of deer out in the savannah and the only way to reach them was going very slowly through the long grass shrubs surrounding a tree. The leader decided he was going to wait until night fell. He watched the family drink from the watering hole, watched them play, and watched them eat as the sun was hiding behind the horizon. When darkness finally came, the tiger walked slowly through the long grass getting closer and closer to the deer. His skin had burned but he did not care. He was too hungry. He was surprised as to how close he was getting to the family of deer and how none of them noticed. When he was close enough he pounced and with his ferocious teeth grabbed the closest deer to him. As the deer was losing life the deer whispered to the tiger, “I didn't even see you!” The tiger proudly dragged the deer home to his family. As he walked up the rest of the pact were delighted for food but astonished by his new pattern. As the wife of the tiger approached the male, she said, “You have become one with the grass.” As his family ate, the male stared at the new pattern on his skin in the reflection of the watering hole. The sun had burnt the tiger’s skin through the grass making him virtually impossible to see. Then on all his children became part of the stripped pack until one day, all the tigers of the world were no longer solid color but instead they were stripped forever.