eer of ordinary size, the
tiger family finishes it altogether at one meal!

So you see how kind the tiger and tigress are to their children. Suppose
that among us there was a family of five people, father and mother, and
three children; and suppose they were having a turkey dinner. Then if
the father and mother were as kind to their children as the tiger and
tigress are, they would give to their children the breast and all the
nicest titbits of the turkey--and after that the father and mother would
eat what remained of the turkey.

That shows that a tiger is an affectionate father, whatever faults he
may have. Among animals, the mothers, of course, are nearly always
affectionate to their children; but very often the fathers are not. In
fact, among some kinds of animals in the jungle, the fathers do not care
much for their children; they desert them.

But the tiger is different; he is usually a good father. That is an
important thing to remember. It shows that even if an animal is
supposed to be very bad generally, it may yet have some special virtues
of its own. That is a lesson for us. We may know people who are supposed
to be bad; but even then we should try to find out if they have some
good quality.

CHAPTER VII

The Tiger Cubs' Lessons

Do tiger children have lessons? Of course they have! Almost all animal
children have. You will remember the lessons in Book I which the
elephant child had to learn. In the same manner other animal children
must learn how to make a living in the jungle, and also how to avoid
dangers.

Among tiger children, their lessons begin even when the father and
mother are providing them with the food; for, as I have just told you,
the children must learn at least which part of the meat to eat, and
which not to eat.

But the most important thing they have to learn is how to catch the
prey, and how to kill it for themselves--that is, how to provide their
own food. Their parents teach them to do that gradually from time to
time, in many lessons.

_Tiger Cubs Learn to Kill Prey, After their Parents have Caught It_

As they are not yet big enough to _catch_ the prey, they are first
taught how to _kill_ the prey, after their father or mother has caught
it alive for them. And that is another wonder of the jungle, and another
good quality of the tiger. If the tiger catches a deer, even the largest
kind of deer, he could kill it at one blow, so as to eat it at once. But
if the ti