men moved slowly forwards. It was hard to see in the dim light, and the shadows played tricks on them many times. Then suddenly there came a terrific roar as a huge tiger leapt out right in front of them. Confused and angered by the noise, and faced with so many humans, it was unsure on which one to pounce.
Peng Hoe's plan was working! Although terrified, the men carried on banging their tin cans as they closed ranks around the tiger.
Now it was trapped in this circle of men, snarling and showing its teeth. Calmly Peng Hoe stepped forward, aimed his rifle carefully, and...
BANG!...
He shot the tiger stone dead. The beautiful but deadly creature lay at the feet of twenty-one men, and for a split second no-one moved.
Then Peng Hoe lowered his rifle, and approached the tiger warily. Standing in front of it, he touched the tiger to make sure it really was dead. When they saw him nod his head, the men went wild. They lifted Peng Hoe into the air and carried him all the way back to Wang's house, singing at the tops of their voices, to tell him the great news.
Wang shook Peng Hoe's hand and gratefully paid him the $20 reward. Thank goodness, he didn't have to worry about losing any more men.
And as for Peng Hoe, he became a hero, and has been remembered ever since as the man who killed the last wild tiger in Singapore.
Surrounding the tropical island of Singapore is, of course, water. On bright sunny days the ocean glows blue like the most luminous of sapphires. On stormy days it turns grey, with angry white caps on the tips of the waves.
One stormy day, when the sea was lashing angrily at the coast-line sweeping in piles of weed and driftwood and flinging them onto the shore, a shoal of wild swordfish swept in with the tide. These creatures were fierce, with sword-like snouts that were as sharp as bread knives. They crunched into anything that happened to be in their path. They snapped and chopped and chomped and chewed.
Some fishermen were standing on the rocks, hoping for a catch. Just one of these huge swordfish would feed a whole family for a week. But they were not so lucky. The fierce fish swept in so quickly, that soon not one fisherman was left. They were all knocked into the water, or eaten, or both.
Some villagers nearby saw what was happening and were terrified. One or two went near to the water to take a closer look and—quick as a flash—were also seized by the swordfish. No-one else dared go near after that. The shaken villagers didn't know what to do next.
"Aeeiiyah!" one cried. "It's a curse!"
"The Gods of the Sea are angry with us," cried another.
"It's the Raja's enemies," said yet another.
"I'll go straight to the Raja and tell him," said a quick-thinking man, whose name was Ong. "He'll know what to do."
And off he ran to the Raja's palace, which was about a half an hour away for a fast runner.
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