The first tiger gave a spring in the air, but could not reach the branch where Roley was sitting. Then the second tiger tried. And, one after another, each tiger jumped, but missed Roley. So he sat there on his perch, mocking them: “Baa-ba—too baad! too bad!”
At last the tigers had to give up and they all sat in a ring and took counsel together. Then One-Eye said, “I know how we can reach him. I will stand here against the tree trunk and the rest of you can climb on my back, one on top of the other. Then we can catch the rascal very easily.”
They all agreed that this was an excellent plan. So One-Eye propped himself against the tree, and the other tigers climbed one on top of the other, until the top tiger reached out his paw and almost touched Roley. As he did so, One-Eye cocked up his eye to see how they were getting along.
Roley called out, “Mother, oh, Mother, give me a lump of mud, and I will hit the old brute in his one eye, and that will finish him.”
When One-Eye heard this he was so frightened that he gave a great jump and down tumbled the whole seven tigers in a heap, and all fighting and biting and scratching and spitting at each other, for they imagined other beasts were fighting them, and so they fought with one another until they were quite worn out.
As soon as each of the seven tigers got his four legs to himself, off he went to his home.
Then Roley climbed down from the tree and all those joyous kids kicked up their heels and rejoiced together.
Although they never had a tiger skin rug for their floor, they were just as happy, for they did not care to be reminded of their tricky friend, Yellow-Stripe. And the terrible tigers were so frightened that they never again troubled Nanny Goat and her four frolicsome kids.
