The boy’s father and mother heard him shouting and yelling, and they ran out of the house to see what the matter was. They saw that Tom was very much frightened indeed.
“What is it?” they asked.
“Oh,” Tom answered, “I went to get some eggs out of the hay, and I found a tiger there! He had great big eyes, big teeth and a big mouth!”
“Oh, Tom! Really?” asked his mother.
“Really and truly!” he answered. “You can go and look for yourself!”
“No, I don’t believe I want to,” said Tom’s mother. “But do you really think he did see a tiger?” she asked her husband.
“Well, I don’t know,” he slowly answered. “I read in the paper something about a circus train having been wrecked, and maybe a tiger or an elephant got loose and is roaming about.”
“It’s a tiger—not an elephant—and he’s in our barn,” said Tom. “Come and see, Dad! But you’d better bring your gun!”
“Yes,” agreed the farmer, “I think I had. And I’ll call some of the men to help hunt the tiger, too!”