The Lady And The Tiger (1988)

[Music] [Music] a [Music] [Music] in the very Olden time there lived a semi barbaric King he was a man of a exuberant fancy and with all of an authority so irresistible that at his will he turned his vared fancies into facts Among The Borrowed Notions by which his barbarism had become semified was that of the public arena in which by exhibitions of manly and beastly Valor the minds of his subjects were refined and cultured but even here the exuberant and barbaric fancy asserted [Music] [Music] itself 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 when all the people had assembled in the Galleries and the King surrounded by his court sat high upon his throne of Royal State on one side of the Arena he gave a signal a door beneath him opened and the accused subject stepped out into the amphitheater directly opposite him on the other side of the Arena were two doors exactly alike side by side it was the duty and privilege of the person on trial to walk directly to these doors and open one of them he could open either door he pleased 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 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 [Music] and to this lady he was immediately married as a reward of his [Music] innocence this was the king's semi barbaric method of administering Justice 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 the institution was a very popular one when the people gathered together on one of the great trial days they never knew whether they were to witness a bloody Slaughter or a hilarious wedding and no one could bring a charge of unfairness against this plan for did not the accused person have the whole matter in his own hands this semi barbaric King had a daughter as blooming as his most florid fancies and with a soul as fervent and imperious as his own as is usual in such cases she was the apple of his eye and was loved by him above all Humanity among his coures was a young man of that finess of blood and lowness of station common to the conventional Heroes of romance who love Royal maidens this Royal Maiden was well satisfied with her lover for he was handsome and brave to a degree unsurpassed in all this Kingdom and she loved him with an ardor that had enough of barbarism in it to make it exceedingly warm and strong This Love Affair moved on Happily for many months until one day the king happened to discover its existence he did not hesitate nor waver in regard to his duty the youth was immediately cast into prison and a day was appointed for his trial in the king's Arena never before had such a case occurred never before had a subject dared to love the daughter of a king the tiger cages of the Kingdom were searched for the most Savage and Relentless beasts from which the fiercest monster might be selected for the arena and the ranks of Maiden Youth and Beauty throughout the land were carefully surveyed by competent judges in order that the young man might have a fitting bride in case fate did not determine a different Destiny the appointed day arrived from far and near the people gathered and thronged the great galleries of the Arena from the moment that the decree had gone forth that her lover should decide his Fate In The King's Arena the princess had thought of nothing night or day but this great event and the various subjects connected with it possessed of more power influence and force of character than anyone who had ever before been interested in such a case she had done what no other person had done she had discovered the secret of the doors she knew in which of the two rooms that lay behind those doors stood the tiger and in which waited the lady and not only did she know in which room stood the lady ready to emerge all blushing and radiant should her door be opened but she knew who the lady was it was one of the fairest and loveliest of the damsels of the court and the princess hated her often she had seen or imagined that she had seen this Fair creature throwing glances of admiration upon her lover and sometimes she thought these glances were perceived and even returned [Music] when her lover turned and looked at her and his eye met hers he saw by that power of quick perception which is given to those whose souls are one that she knew behind which door crouched the tiger and behind which stood the lady then it was that his quick and anxious glance asked the question which she had lost him but who should have him her right arm lay on the cushioned parit before her she raised her hand and made a slight quick movement toward the right no one but her lover saw her every eye was fixed on the man in the arena he turned and with a firm and Rapid step he walked across the empty space every heart stopped beating every breath was held every eye was fixed immovably upon that man without the slightest hesitation he went to the door on the right and opened it [Music] a [Music]