The Lady or the Tiger?

by Frank R. Stockton, Sandra Higashi (Illustrator)

A princess must choose the fate for her lover--the lady or the tiger.

Genres: Short Stories, Classics, Fiction, Fantasy, Mathematics, Puzzles, School

32 pages, Library Binding

First published May 12, 1982

About the author

Frank Richard Stockton was an American writer and humorist, best known today for a series of innovative children's fairy tales that were widely popular during the last decades of the 19th century. Stockton avoided the didactic moralizing common to children's stories of the time, instead using clever humor to poke at greed, violence, abuse of power and other human foibles, describing his fantastic characters' adventures in a charming, matter-of-fact way.

Reviews

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, thought-provoking short story. It is up to the reader to interpret the ending.

[Sheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic open-ended short story with a great buildup to the climactic moment. It’s ingenious yet maddening as the lack of resolution doesn’t allow the reader to compare their own decision with that of the princess and likewise praise or condemn her. The moral and psychological dilemmas will certainly leave you analyzing the princess’s motives as well as your own. Definitely an involving read with a complex quandary!

Read it online here: http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-sto...

[Sidrah Anum · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE LADY OR THE TIGER?

This a story where the author is asking you a question to allow
yourself to verify your own moral values and character to yourself.
What would you select for the one you love?
What would you choose for yourself?
Would it be vice or virtue?
Which option you can remain with for the rest of your life?

A very entertaining read!

[Mohsin Maqbool · Rating 5 out of 5]

I HAD first read Frank Richard Stockton's "The Lady or the Tiger?" in an English textbook in the late 1970s and instantly fell in love with it. It was the first short story that I had read in which the ending was left to the logical reasoning of the reader. Today I read it for the second time and loved it even more.
Stockton was the writer of the tale. However, he provides you with a head and a body, but you, the reader, are supposed to provide its tail. You could give the story a tragic ending or you could give it a happy one -- like in most fairy tales.


The Lady, or the Tiger. Which is superimposing upon the other?

But is this really a fairy tale? Or is it more of a dark tale with a gory ending? Is it one where jealousy rules roost? Is it one which will shock the onlookers at a coliseum except for one?
Supposing you were in love with the most handsome man on earth or rather an Adonis, and he was to be married off to a woman who was as beautiful if not more beautiful than you, would you be willing to pass him on to her? Or would you wish that if he did not belong to you, then he should belong to no other woman and, in fact, die through the bone-wrecking jaws and the skin-tearing paws of a wild beast?
Think before you answer, look before you leap, judge before you give your verdict.


The Tiger attacks.


Frank R. Stockton

[Ahmed Ejaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a first story I read in which the author is asking me what would be the ending. Isn't it interesting? I haven't read anything like this before. Or I doubt I ever would.

OVERVIEW
A man and the Princess love each other. King finds out and punishes the man for this deed. The punishment is:
There are two doors; behind one there is a tiger who will kill him if he opens it. Behind another, there is a lady with whom he will marry if he opens it.

The Princess knows which door has what. She also signals him to open a specific door.
The confusing question is:
The Princess signaled him to open a door having a tiger or a door having a lady?

I don't know what is the appropriate answer. It's really hard! Either way what would be the benefit of princess?
If she pointed to the door where there was a tiger, the man would die and she would lose him.
If she pointed to the door where there was a lady, the man would marry the lady and again the Princess would lose him.

What do you think, guys?

March 4, 2017

[Charles van Buren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charles van Buren

TOP 1000 REVIEWER

5.0 out of 5 stars

Classic story

March 31, 2019

Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase

This review is of the free Kindle edition:
A Public Domain Book
Publication date: May 16, 2012
Language: English
ASIN: B0083ZF266

Many are familiar with the question, the lady or the tiger to describe a portentous choice leading to either disaster or reward. Probably only the smaller number who have read this classic story realize that in some cases either choice leads to ruin though one is more final than the other.

Addendum October 12, 2021
My wife just read the story for the first time and really enjoyed it. She said that it deserves to be labeled a classic.

[Deborah Markus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember reading the phrase "the lady or the tiger" when I was barely a teenager. I think it was in a Stephen King novel or story. And I remember thinking, "Well, that's a cool saying. Now what the heck does it mean?"

It means that everybody should read this story. As stiff and florid as the prose can sometimes be, and as eye-rollingly stereotypical as the "barbarian" kingdom setting is, it's a great read with a brilliant puzzle of an ending.

Here's a sample of the writing and a basic outline of the premise:

When a subject was accused of a crime of sufficient importance to interest the king, public notice was given that on an appointed day the fate of the accused person would be decided in the king's arena....

The accused subject stepped out into the amphitheater. Directly opposite him, on the other side of the inclosed [sic] space, were two doors, exactly alike and side by side. ...If he opened the one, there came out of it a hungry tiger, the fiercest and most cruel that could be procured, which immediately sprang upon him and tore him to pieces as a punishment for his guilt.

...But, if the accused person opened the other door, there came forth from it a lady, the most suitable to his years and station that his majesty could select among his fair subjects, and to this lady he was immediately married, as a reward of his innocence.

The storyteller is careful to point out that it doesn't matter if the accused is already married or in love. One thing the story doesn't mention is how on earth this "barbaric" kingdom deals with female criminals. Maybe they're made to choose between a door hiding Brad Pitt and one concealing Danny DeVito.

Anyway. This is a Kindle freebie:

http://www.amazon.com/Lady-Tiger-Fran...

It's also available to read fer free on the Interwebz:

http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-sto...

Read it and decide for yourself what the answer to the title question must be!

[Ania · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember reading this short story in high school. My whole class at the end debated passionately which door was chosen, but personally I think that part doesn't matter at all; Schrödinger's cat and all that. It's both until the choice is made, and even then it's still both thanks to quantum physics.

I think what matters most in the story is what the reader believes happened. I think that people chose the door which they would have chosen themselves in that situation. This puts a mirror right in front of the reader, exposing him exactly as he or she is within their heart: pessimist or optimist; forgiving or not. If you think about it, it's really quite a genius little piece of writing, and for that, it gets 5 stars from me.

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this story several times over the years. It remains one of the most original works of fiction I have ever read; how often have I changed my mind over what was waiting to come through the door. I wonder if Erwin Schrödinger ever read this story; it seems to me to share some crucial similarities with his thought experiment (Schrödinger's cat).

[Sadia Mansoor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never have I read a short story THIS GREAT as far as I remember! (Y)

Amazing.. purely amazing plot with a puzzling ending for the readers. We weren't told what happened in the end? Whether the handsome man choose the beautiful lady or the tiger behind one of the closed doors? Its for us to decide. Now, this is frustrating! I like and also dislike this idea of we bringing our judgement for the story. I really like ready made answers. This is the first time that an author has given us the whole situation & leaving us hanging in the air, without telling us the full story :(

I seriously don't know how to decide the ending? I have two answers. One from my perspective & the other from the princess'. Firstly, if we look at the princess' situation. She is losing from both sides, whether she hands the young man to the lovely damsel or allow him to become the food for the tiger. Its the clever King (her father) who is winning. He is really cruel for bringing up this form of punishment & also hurting his daughter in front of his eyes -_-

Ok.. my FIRST answer is she chooses the tiger because it is told in the story that she does have the savage blood running into her veins, transmitted from her barbaric ancestors & obviously she was jealous of the lady & her eyeing the princess' lover every now & then. She also assumes that the young man likes that lady too. So, she hates the lady already & cannot stand her getting married to the person she loves in front of her eyes. Also, even if she let him choose the lady, the King had already decided that the young man would still be punished, so the princess let him die before this. She knew the future & she knew that she would be asked for the reasons of taking this decision. She has to be answerable to the King. That savage man!

My SECOND answer is according to my perspective, i.e. if I was in her place, I would have let him choose the lady over the tiger. Because I cannot see my own love getting killed & eaten by an animal in front of my own eyes. I know that's the toughest decision to make but I am not that savage enough to decide the tiger for him. True love doesn't dissolve in jealousy that easily. Love means you want the other person happy, even if that person doesn't choose you. THEIR HAPPINESS matters the most. If you love him/her truly, you won't let them die that easily. You want them to be happy!

Now, I also have some questions for the characters:
1) If the princess was that influential & powerful & she has made a mark everywhere, why didn't she placed herself behind the door, instead of that lady. I mean the court is hers & her father's, she can do anything. The King loves her daughter so much that he might consider this too.
2) How can the young man trust his lover at this hour? He knows that the King is cruel, so the princess might be exactly like her father too.
How come he really trusts her that she won't lead him to the door where there is no tiger behind?
If he can trust her so much, then the princess must also show her love & not let him choose the wrong door, where there is the tiger.
3) Does the princess know that the young man is really honest to her? Should she save his life? Or is he just showing her that he truly trusts or love her just to save his life?
4) Are they all deserving to be trusted on? Can we really test them? Can we forgive them all for their wrong decisions because nothing was in their control? Or are they trying to be innocent?

This story is about making choices, making correct decisions & judgement. None of the characters know about each other's hearts & true feelings. We cannot really trust the princess, nor the young man & not at all rely on the King. Anyone can deceive at the last moment. We all can be barbaric if we get a chance. We can kill anyone if their fate is in our hands, just like the King & his daughter are doing to all the people in their kingdom. No one is completely honest here.
Life itself is a test. We all act differently to save ourselves. We never for a moment think about other's situation. We only want to win. We cannot really judge anyone's position, nor their decision.

Lastly, I am still not sure whether my guesses are correct or not. I just want to know what the author had in his mind (i mean the ending) when he wrote this story. He knew the ending but he didn't reveal. I am curious about his decision & the reasons behind that decision. Sadly, we will never know that :(

Here's the story for you all https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&am...

[Leah Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this to help my little brother with his homework, lol, but I love it so much. Petty petty petty people. Girlfriend DEFINITELY had her lover eaten by a tiger, and you know it.

[Thibault Busschots · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very well written and thought provoking story as it boldly leaves it to the reader to decide how it ends.

[Quirkyreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a bit of a conundrum. So be warned.

[Lost Planet Airman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beware! This starts out as a puzzle book, then evolves into a challenging look at modern logic. Good stuff, but it turned out to be beyond me.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

His wording was dreadful. His style was displeasing. The tale was thoughtful and intriguing. When the king took notice of a crime committed by his subjects, they had a choice. His form of justice was for the accused to pick an unmarked door where either a tiger or a lady awaited. The hungry tiger devoured the transgressor. The lady immediately wedded the offender despite his marital status or affections. In this tale written in 1882, you decide the ending. 3.5 stars.

[Marzieh Torabi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Which door did the young man choose? I wouldn't know.
If I were the princess, which door would I show to my lover? The lady or the tiger? I still don't know!

[dianne b. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having recently discovered the 19th C writer, Frank Stockton, i've been digging up what i can - and this is his most famous work, a riddle. It is clever, but it isn't the riddle itself that i enjoyed most, but his writing. It seems a blend of Gertrude Stein, Mark Twain, and my father's wit. There is such wonderful understated humor, bits of flawlessly placed absurdity, and words altered just so, throughout what i have read of Mr. Stockton's work so far - that one feels a little tipsy.

The riddle that follows this riddle, offering to explain the first, if you can solve the second, is also a delight. The following is not the riddle, but just, perhaps an idea whose time has come?:
"At that moment an attendant whom the prince had not noticed came and stood beside him. This was a broad-shouldered man of cheery aspect, who carried, its hilt in his right hand, and its broad back resting on his broad arm, an enormous scimitar, the upturned edge of which was keen and bright as any razor. Holding this formidable weapon as tenderly as though it had been a sleeping infant, this man drew closer to the prince and bowed.
'Who are you?' exclaimed His Highness, starting back at the sight of the frightful weapon.
'I', said the other, with a courteous smile, 'am the Discourager of Hesitancy.' "

[Devlin Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Lady, or the Tiger? by Frank R. Stockton (Book Review)

Rarely will I spoil a story by giving a ‘blow-by-blow’ description. This is a rare exception.

This, simply and straightforwardly told, is the tale of a man’s fate that angered a king and encouraged his wraith by falling in love with his daughter. His guilt or innocence is determined by fate, this is the king’s clever design and either choice the accused makes, the king wins. The accused must choose a door…one houses the most vicious tiger in the land, the other, the fairest maiden his courtiers could find. His fate is simple; one leads to death, the other to marriage. Fate offers him a chance...

But, this decision is not his to make. This honor belongs to the princess who loves him. Which door will she choose for the man she loves?

Here, I will stop and allow you to make your own discovery. All I will say is that the ending is perfect!

Devlin

[Hesamul Haque · Rating 5 out of 5]

A woman is an enigma. The intensity of her love and hatred for anyone has hardly been comprehended even by most learned philosopher of all time. It is dificult to understand what her next step of action would be. We mortals have experienced the love of a woman which emanates from our mothers and sisters but some unfortunate ones have also stumbled upon the negative emotions like jealousy and envy that have been known to colour the characteristics of a woman. Though I would be happy if the man is given a chance to live a fruitful life with his new bride, I also cannot overwrite the fact that jealousy is as strong an emotion as love.

[Aqsa]

Find it here:
http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-sto...

[Cole W · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’d heard versions of this story in pop culture long before I actually read it, so it was fascinating to finally see where it came from. Even knowing a little about it beforehand didn’t take away from the experience. It’s short and easy to read, but it builds tension fast and dives straight into some very human emotions. The mix of love, jealousy, and pride makes it feel surprisingly modern for how old it is.

What stood out most to me was how open-ended it feels. The story doesn’t give you neat answers, and that’s what makes it so interesting. It feels like a look at the choices people make when reason and emotion pull in opposite directions. You can’t help but imagine what you’d do in the same situation.

[Hirdesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating !

[Rebecca Crunden]

This was the king's semi-barbaric method of administering justice. Its perfect fairness is obvious. The criminal could not know out of which door would come the lady; he opened either he pleased, without having the slightest idea whether, in the next instant, he was to be devoured or married. On some occasions the tiger came out of one door, and on some out of the other.

Oh, wow, okay. I absolutely loved the prose. I've never even heard of this before it popped up on my feed today, but apparently it's a classic short story from the 1880s. How groovy! I definitely recommend giving this a read.

The Lady or the Tiger? follows the tale of a barbaric king after he learns his daughter has a secret lover and so subjects him to a trial by chance. If he picks one door, he gets eaten by a tiger; if he picks the other door, he has to marry a woman who is not his daughter. The story is framed in a talking-to-the-reader kind of way, with a philosophical twist (kind of reminds me of The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, actually). The prose is just so lush that it draws you right in.

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[Hiba · Rating 3 out of 5]

"And so I leave it with all of you: Which came out of the opened door,—the lady, or the tiger?"

This is one funny story, not funny as in humorous, but rather amusing. I have always had a love/hate relationship with short stories, I love them for the questions they stir in my mind, and hate them for leaving those questions unanswered. I love them for letting my imagination think of the details, and hate them for not being detailed enough.

This one is no different, there are many many questions, other than the one concerning the doors, and I thought I would at least get an answer for that latter, but I don't know what the answer was, the lady, or the tiger?

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting concept for a story. I thought it was funny that no one could claim the procedure was unfair, since the accused got to choose the door. It was also funny that everyone knew the princess’s lover had done what he was accused of, but the king thought the trial would show whether what the man did was wrong. I was kind of expecting the lover to headgame the whole thing too and debate whether to follow the princess’s advice, but it seems he trusted her.

[Patricia]

I heard about this story on Private Practice.

Addy's talking to her therapist.

"Did you ever read The Lady Or The Tiger?"
"No."
"There's a princess, who falls in love with a Guard. Which is, you know, inappropiate. So, when her father, the king, finds out he throws the Guard into some kind of arena." She looks up at her therapist.
"Okay.."
"Behind one door is a tiger that'll tear him to bits. Aand behind the other is a lady, with whom he'd be free to live the rest of his life.
The princess is forced to sit in the stance and choose his fate."
"What did she choose?"
"The author never tells you."
"What do you think she chose?"

I haven't read the story yet. I'm not sure if I will, because it's - from what I've heard - rather sad. But I hope the princess chose the lady.

If I had been the princess and if I had been madly in love with the guard, I couldn't have let him die. A world in which the one person I love doesn't exist? (No, I won't even talk about how he'd be happy etc. I would want him to be happy. But first of all, I'd want him to be alive.)

And if I hadn't been in love with him that much I'd have even more reasons to let him live, because I wouldn't really suffer from the idea of him with another woman.

But I don't know her and I don't know him. I have no idea if he would have wanted to live without her, if he believed in a higher being and wouldn't have dared to take his own life - if the tiger'd have been a mercy killing.

So, I should read the story. But I can't. Stories like that eat me alive and I can't stop thinking about them for weeks. Which is why I'm going to tell my mother about it right now. She's like me. Muahahaha. >:D

[Div · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a brilliant story, read this in school and had a great discussion with friends over the possible ending. Frank, very cleverly left it open coz as they say, A woman's heart is deep like an ocean, impossible to fathom!

[Star Shining Forever · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cool story! Still haven't figured it out!!

[Soroosh Akef · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frank Stockton’s renowned short story “The Lady or the Tiger?” is one among many of its kind, which put the complexity of human’s emotions into perspective. The story is about the daughter of a “semi-barbaric” king, who was infamous for his unorthodox deliverance of justice, inasmuch as the person charged with a crime of significant importance had to choose between two doors, behind one of which stood a ferocious tiger, and a fair maiden behind the other. The verdict was only just, for it was the man himself who would choose which door to open, and either be torn apart by a fierce beast, or be wed on the spot to the girl who was delicately selected by the king.

Stockton, then, fast-forwards to the point in the story where a young, daring boy is charged with having a clandestine affair with the King’s daughter. The princess, determined to learn of the truth about what awaits her lover behind each door, manages to obtain the information some good time before the trial. Matters are complicated further when the princess discovers that the lady standing behind one of the doors is one she loathes. Stockton does a fairly decent job of remaining neutral as he allows the reader to sneak a glance at the tangled feelings of the princess before the day of the trial.

The climax of the story, however, is when the princess unhesitatingly gestured toward the door on the right, as the boy was looking at her moments before he walked toward his faith. The story ends in a cliffhanger as the author refuses to take a stance on what happens in the end, leaving the readers to reflect whether the boy was greeted by the lady or the tiger as he opened the door on the right.

Stockton has adopted a literary style, which is only appropriate to the atmosphere of the story. The internal conflict of the princess is so depicted that the reader cannot but sympathize with her, shaping the story into an inevitable tragedy with a tinge of frustration for the reader.

[Kelly_Hunsaker_reads ... · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 6 pages Frank Stockton brought to the reader a fully thought-out story about the randomness of justice, and the selfishness of jealousy.

My biggest complaint is that I felt the story should have ended a few paragraphs before it did. When the young, handsome suitor opens the door we are already wondering whether he will be greeted by the lady who will marry him (thereby breaking the princess' jealous heart) or the tiger that will inevitably kill him. Where did she direct him? Is she willing to save his life only to lose him to the woman she detests? Those questions are there and we didn't need it explained to us in the following passages.