the bear and the tiger

one day i walked in some forest. i came through a wild and lonely valley. suddenly i heard a sound from the side. i turned my head and saw a big black bear. the bear skillfully jumped up a tree and looked at me inquiringly. i had been told in the last village that my path would go through the territory of a bear and a tiger. 'who dares to walk through my territory?' the bear asked me. 'it's me, the tiger!' said i. i squatted a bit lower, so that the bear couldn't see me so good. would he believe me or not? the bear looked at me and i looked at the bear. we both took a deep breath. then i decided that i would feel more comfortable with some more distance between the bear and me. the bear had the same feeling at the same time. he made an impressive jump from the tree to the hillside and disappeared in the thickness of the undergrowth. i quickly walked away towards the river side. one or two hours later i met a group of locals who came the opposite way. i told them about my meeting with the bear and told them also that unfortunately i didn't see the tiger. 'most of those who see the tiger usually don't talk anymore', commented one of them.