Experience The Petaluma Youth Commission

Winning Piece for Short Story

How Tigers Found Their Stripes- By Riley Hammock

Once long ago, the lands covered by snow, Savannah, mountains, and jungles were barren with life. Not one creature roamed the Earth to thrive off its resources. 
    However, the loneliness of Earth changed when Mother Nature created the first creatures, the Big Cats. They began as black streaks in the sky, looming over the lands, trying to find a place to call home. Some ran to the mountains and adapted their paws for the snow, with long tails for balance; others sprinted to the Savannah and gained spots that could vanish in a blur of speed; prides roamed into the tall grasses and covered themselves in manes, but one Big Cat wasn’t sure where they belonged. 
They walked around the lands, searching for their home and friends to feel they belonged. The Big Cat tried to run up the snowy mountains, but they didn’t have soft snowshoe paws or a long fluffy tail for balance; they weren’t a Snow Leopard. Defeated, the unnamed Big Cat sat in the deep snow. The Snow Leopard, worried for their friend, offered solace in the home of the Lions. The Snow Leopard said, “Maybe you belong in the Lions’ pride?” 
So the Big Cat went to the Savannah to find the Lions, a proud and mighty bunch. The Lions approached the Big Cat and told them that to first being a Lion, you must have a mane. The Big Cat nodded, desperate to fit in, and set out to find the fur around their neck. No matter where the Big Cat searched, they couldn’t find their mane; they felt hopeless. Returning to the Lions, the Big Cat let out a pitiful roar and said they would never have a home. The Lions, also worried for their friend, told them to seek the Cheetahs in the Savannah's flat plains. “Maybe you’re faster than you think!” The Lions exclaimed. 
Hopeful, the Big Cat ran to the plain to meet the Cheetahs. The Cheetahs were covered in spots, small and round to match their long-bony bodies. They glanced at the Big Cat and laughed. “You must think yourself a fool to be a Cheetah,” they said, “you are much too large and slow.” The Big Cat felt defeated and walked into the jungle to hide their shame.
Laying under the large palm fronds, the Big Cat let out a massive sigh. “Maybe I don’t fit in anywhere.” They said. The Big Cat fell into a deep sleep that lasted for many days.
They awoke to a surprise! Their fur had been burned by the sun, leaving it bright orange! However, the palm fronds left stripes all along the Big Cat’s body, massive black lines. “What’s this,” the Big Cat exclaimed, “I look mightier than any Lion and more colorful than any Cheetah.” The Big Cat jumped for joy, thinking of a name to call themselves. “I shall be known as Tiger, King of the Jungle!” The other Big Cats welcomed Tiger with glee, even the snarky Cheetahs. 
Tiger had learned that no matter what they looked like or where they were from, they were just as unique as anyone else.