It is a pomegranate ! ' Now the king knew nothing about fruits except that they were good to eat ; and , as for seasons , he asked for whatever fruit he wanted whenever he wanted it , and saw that he got it ; so to him Moti 's guess was like a miracle , and clear proof not only of his wisdom but of his innocence , for it was a pomegranate that he had put into the box . Of course when the king marvelled and praised Moti 's wisdom , everybody else did so too ; and , whilst the Afghans went off crestfallen , Moti took the horse and entered the king 's service . Very soon after this , Moti , who continued to live in the serai , came back one wet and stormy evening to find that his precious horse had strayed . Nothing remained of him but a broken halter cord , and no one knew what had become of him . After inquiring of everyone who was likely to know , Moti seized the cord and his big staff and sallied out to look for him . Away and away he tramped out of the city and into the neighbouring forest , tracking hoof-marks in the mud . Presently it grew late , but still Moti wandered on until suddenly in the gathering darkness he came right upon a tiger who was contentedly eating his horse . ` You thief ! ' shrieked Moti , and ran up and , just as the tiger , in astonishment , dropped a bone -- whack ! came Moti 's staff on his head with such good will that the beast was half stunned and could hardly breathe or see . Then Moti continued to shower upon him blows and abuse until the poor tiger could hardly stand , whereupon his tormentor tied the end of the broken halter round his neck and dragged him back to the serai . ` If you had my horse , ' he said , ' I will at least have you , that 's fair enough ! ' And he tied him up securely by the head and heels , much as he used to tie the horse ; then , the night being far gone , he flung himself beside him and slept soundly . You can not imagine anything like the fright of the people in the serai , when they woke up and found a tiger -- very battered but still a tiger -- securely tethered amongst themselves and their beasts ! Men gathered in groups talking and exclaiming , and finding fault with the innkeeper for allowing such a dangerous beast into the serai , and all the while the innkeeper was just as troubled as the rest , and none dared go near the place where the tiger stood blinking miserably on everyone , and where Moti lay stretched out snoring like thunder . At last news reached the king that Moti had exchanged his horse for a live tiger ; and the monarch himself came down , half disbelieving the tale , to see if it were really true . Someone at last awaked Moti with the news that his royal master was come ; and he arose yawning , and was soon delightedly explaining and showing off his new possession . The king , however , did not share his pleasure at all , but called up a soldier to shoot the tiger , much to the relief of all the inmates of the serai except Moti . If the king , however , was before convinced that Moti was one of the wisest of men , he was now still more convinced that he was the bravest , and he increased his pay a hundredfold , so that our hero thought that he was the luckiest of men .
A week or two after this incident the king sent XXXXX Moti , who on arrival found his master in despair .
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