How the Tiger got its Stripes

The BLT, the Bear, the Lion and the Tiger

Change is part of life and the catalyst of moving forward, often providing us with invaluable lessons such as How the Tiger got its Stripes, my adaptation of an ancient legend.

How the Tiger got its Stripes

A long, long time ago, when animals could talk among themselves much like humans do today, a white, stripe-less tiger, a very young tiger, brave and foolish, tiptoed one morning all the way to the edge of the great jungle where he grew up… although he knew he shouldn’t have. For only a quick peek at the rice fields growing nearby… for he’d heard their song in the wind.

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The Old Bear in Romanian Mythology and Folklore #Im4Ro

The Old Bear in Romanian Mythology and Folklore

The good, old bear, or the grizzly ursine, populated Romanian mythology since the times of the Thracians, and tales of its powers and wisdom have left their paw-prints on the Romanian folklore too.

The bear as a totem, as a symbol of one’s ancestry, was an animal revered by ancient Thracian religion, alongside the wolf. Why, it is even whispered in legends that the great Zalmoxix, the god worshiped by Geto-Dacians, was wrapped in a bear’s skin right after his birth. To soak up the power and the strength of the great beast, and perhaps even its endurance.

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