Talking animal in The Oz Series
immense Tiger
Also known as an immense Tiger, the Hungry Tiger, the great Tiger, the other beast, friend Tiger, the enormous Tiger, the terror of the jungle, the striped beast, his hungry friend, the huge beast.
An immense Tiger who, together with a great Lion, draws Ozma's golden chariot. Despite his ferocious tiger nature and savage appetite for living creatures, his conscience forbids him from ever eating one, which he considers a disgrace to his species; it was this refusal that drove him to leave the forest and join the Cowardly Lion.
Appears in 18 chapters, first in chapter 55, last in chapter 90.
This encyclopedia covers chapters 1 to 100 of the story and shows the world as it stands at chapter 100, so it contains spoilers up to that point. To read it spoiler free, one chapter at a time, open the interactive codex.
What the story establishes
| Affiliation | A companion-beast of Ozma's court in the Emerald City, harnessed alongside the Cowardly Lion to draw her royal chariot. (as of ch. 86) |
| Animal kind | Tiger |
| Appearance | An immense tiger with a mouth big enough to display two rows of terrible teeth when yawning widely, and a long red tongue; wears a bow of red ribbon on his tail just in front of the bushy end. (as of ch. 56) |
| Being nature | A naturally savage tiger by instinct — has an appetite for all sorts of poor little living creatures — who nonetheless refuses to act on that predatory nature because of his own conscience. |
| Body conditions | Extremely well-fed after a huge breakfast — seventeen bowls of porridge, a platter of fried sausages, eleven loaves of bread, and twenty-one mince pies — yet his body still craves far more, being built for an insatiable, oversized appetite. |
| Conflict | Torn between his natural tiger instinct to hunt and devour harmless creatures and his own conscience, which forbids him from acting on that hunger. (as of ch. 56) |
| Current goal | To remember his promise not to eat Billina or any other friend of Dorothy's, despite his hunger and admitted absent-mindedness. (as of ch. 56) |
| Dialogue style | Speaks with mock-menacing relish and dry self-aware humor about his own hunger and appetite for cruelty, punctuated by jaw-snapping and lip-licking, but always undercuts the menace by affirming his conscience forbids acting on it. (as of ch. 56) |
| Equipment | Wears a bow of red ribbon fastened on his tail, just in front of the bushy end. (as of ch. 56) |
| Gender identity | man (as of ch. 57) |
| Health condition | Physically vigorous and powerful, but afflicted by a permanent, unappeasable hunger that cannot be satisfied no matter how much he eats. (as of ch. 56) |
| Is alive | yes (as of ch. 55) |
| Motive | To resist his own savage, carnivorous instincts and avoid having any cruel deeds on his conscience, even though he remains perpetually hungry. (as of ch. 56) |
| Personality | Melancholic and self-deprecating, considers himself a disgrace to his own species for refusing to be cruel, yet good-natured and honest about his conflicted impulses; polite toward Dorothy's friends and admits he is absent-minded at times. (as of ch. 56) |
| Quirks | Yawns widely to display two rows of terrible teeth, snaps his jaws together with a fierce click, and licks his lips with his long red tongue when speaking of food. (as of ch. 56) |
| Referential profile | masculine (as of ch. 56) |
| Sex profile | male (as of ch. 59) |
| Skills | Frightening servants and other creatures merely by roaming about, and comically demanding elaborate cooked meals (steak, potatoes, ice-cream) from terrified servants instead of eating them. (as of ch. 57) |
| Social status | A cherished companion-beast of Ozma's court, harnessed alongside the Cowardly Lion to draw the Princess's chariot in her Emerald City processions. (as of ch. 86) |
| Special capabilities | An enormous appetite that he says fills his whole body and feels too large for him, which he jokes he wishes a dentist could pull like a tooth. |
| Status | Decorated with a bow, draws Ozma's royal chariot in the holiday procession; at the games he hurls himself at Jim like a cannonball for kicking the Sawhorse and, with the Lion, menaces him before retreating to the Princess's side. (as of ch. 86) |
Relationships
- ally of · Cowardly Lion ch. 56The Cowardly Lion introduces the Hungry Tiger to Dorothy as his new friend, and the Tiger explains he joined the Lion after refusing to act with a proper tiger's cruelty.
- provides service → Ozma ch. 55The immense Tiger, yoked with the Lion, draws Ozma's golden chariot across the desert and into the Land of Ev.
- includes ← ozma_rescue_expedition ch. 57The Hungry Tiger is harnessed with the Cowardly Lion to draw the chariot, taking part in the expedition to the Nome King's domain.
- protects → Dorothy (ended) ch. 65The Tiger crouched beside Dorothy and snarled fiercely, baring his sharp teeth to drive back the Nome warriors sent to seize her.
- communicates with ← Dorothy (ended) ch. 85Dorothy runs out and hugs the Tiger along with the Lion in eager delight, then tells both of them about the earthquake and her recent adventures.
- accuses → Eureka (ended) ch. 88As the jury's appointed spokesman, the Hungry Tiger declares Eureka guilty of eating Ozma's piglet and recommends she be put to death.
- threatens → Jim (ended) ch. 86The Hungry Tiger hurls its body at Jim, striking him and sending him rolling for kicking the Sawhorse, then crouches beside him with glowing eyes until he apologizes.
- protects → the twenty-seven soldiers (ended) ch. 58The Hungry Tiger joins the Lion in repeatedly leaping under the swinging hammer, shielding the terrified officers from the descending mallet as it carries them across two at a time.
- rescues → the twenty-seven soldiers (ended) ch. 58The Hungry Tiger joins the Lion in repeatedly leaping back beneath the pounding hammer, carrying two officers at a time clinging to his neck until the entire terrified, weak-kneed army has been carried safely to the other side.
- communicates with ← Dorothy (ended) ch. 56Dorothy is introduced to the Hungry Tiger and they talk about his ravenous appetite; she extracts his promise never to eat Billina.
- protects → Dorothy (ended) ch. 58The Hungry Tiger carries Dorothy, who clings around his striped neck, and leaps straight and true beneath the swinging hammer, delivering her unharmed to the far side.
- communicates with ← Jim (ended) ch. 85After being introduced by the Sawhorse, Jim exchanges wary but ultimately civil banter with the Hungry Tiger about being too tough and old to eat, and about conscience restraining harm.
- commands ← Ozma (ended) ch. 87Ozma appoints the Hungry Tiger to serve on the nine-member animal jury for Eureka's murder trial.
- communicates with ← Saw-Horse (ended) ch. 85The Sawhorse introduces the Hungry Tiger to Jim, calling him the terror of the jungle who longs to devour fat babies but is kept from doing so by his conscience, and vouches that he is a friend.
- protects → Saw-Horse (ended) ch. 86The Hungry Tiger defends the fallen Sawhorse by launching itself at Jim and striking him down for his ungracious kick.
- communicates with ← Dorothy (ended) ch. 57Dorothy asks the Hungry Tiger about his enormous appetite, and he explains in his mournful way that it feels too large for his body.
- threatens ← Jim (ended) ch. 85Jim warns the Tiger that his own conscience prevents him from crushing the Tiger's skull with his hoof, an implicit threat which the Tiger meets calmly, unafraid, and even turns into a good-natured warning of his own.
- located in → Kingdom of the Nomes (ended) ch. 57–67The Hungry Tiger, harnessed to the chariot alongside the Cowardly Lion, sets out with the expedition on the road toward the valley leading to the Nome King's domain.
- threatens → Nanda (ended) ch. 57The Hungry Tiger looms over the frightened maid Nanda and asks her permission to eat her, sending her fleeing in terror.
- communicates with → the Nome King (ended) ch. 62The Hungry Tiger complains to the Nome King that he is still starving despite a huge breakfast and asks to become an ornament to escape his hunger, or failing that wishes aloud for a fat baby to eat; the King refuses to let him into the palace.
- commands → Nanda (ended) ch. 57The Hungry Tiger orders the terrified maid Nanda to fetch him thirty pounds of tenderloin steak, a peck of boiled potatoes, and five gallons of ice-cream, after she refuses to let him eat her.
From the text
"For my part, I'm a savage beast, and have an appetite for all sorts of poor little living creatures, from a chipmunk to fat babies."Chapter 56
"You can hardly imagine the size of my appetite," replied the Tiger, sadly. "It seems to fill my whole body, from the end of my throat to the tip of my tail."Chapter 57
"It would not be enough to fill one of my back teeth," remarked the Tiger. "A bushel of them, hard boiled, might take a little of the edge off my appetite; but one egg isn't good for anything at all, that I know of."Chapter 58
"Ask the King where his kitchen is," suggested the Tiger. "I'm hungry as a bear."Chapter 59
"A fat baby. I want a fat baby," said the Hungry Tiger. "A nice, plump, juicy, tender, fat baby. But, of course, if I had one, my conscience would not allow me to eat it."Chapter 62
"But that is not the worst of it," declared the Tiger, mournfully. "Somewhere or somehow, I've actually lost my appetite!"Chapter 68
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