He went out tiger hunting with his elephant and gun...

Bill threw his toast onto a piece of cardboard and started wolfing it down. He stuffed half of it into his mouth and slurped down his coffee.

"Bill!" Called his mother "Do you know where the first-aid kit is? Don't want you getting hurt now do we?"

Bill sighed and got up. "No Mum!" He shouted angrily. He was 34 and a famed animal hunter - he didn't have time for looking for first-aid kits. "It's okay!" She called back "I've found it!"

Bill hated his Mum. He wished she would die. Why had she insisted on coming on this trip? It was the most important hunting trip of his life. He was hunting tigers.

He had travelled the world and collected trophies from everywhere. He had elephant tusks, rhino hides and panda fur. But he had never killed a tiger.

He climbed out of his tent and looked over at his Mum's. It annoyed him that her tent was the same size as his. His should be bigger.

Going back inside, he picked up his gun and shouted at his Mum to hurry up. Then he marched over to a tree stump to the a few metres away from his tent. Tied to the stump by a huge, heavy metal chain was a fairly small Asian elephant.

Bill picked up the long rope whip he kept by the elephant. Instinctively, the animal flinched back in alarm. That whip had hit him so many times. Bill ignored the elephant's reaction, clambered onto the stump. He then threw a mat onto the elephant's back and swung a foot over it so he was riding the animal.

"Mum!" He screamed "Come here and get the chain off Elephant!" Bill called the animal "Elephant" because he lacked an imagination.

His Mum, who was getting fairly elderly, hurried over. She knelt by the foot of the elephant that was chained up. Elephant lifted his foot gently and Bill's Mum undid the heavy lock that kept him captive. She was careful not to scratch him with the sharp, rusting metal.

"Let's go then." Said Bill impatiently and whipped the elephant aggressively. Elephant whimpered. Bill's Mum also climbed onto Elephant's back.

As quietly as an elephant carrying two people can go, they headed into the jungle.

*

They returned empty handed. Bill thought he had seen a tiger, or at least a glimpse of orange, but Elephant had refused to walk through a huge clump in of thorns. He would pay for that.

That night Bill and his Mum argued. "You're not coming with me!" Shouted Bill "You're such a pain - sticking up for that stupid animal and wittering on about animal cruelty! You probably weigh the elephant down!"

"Fine then!" Screamed his Mother tearfully. "Tomorrow, you go out by yourself!" And she threw herself into her tent and stayed there.

*

At about 10 the next morning Bill mounted Elephant and left. They trekked sullenly through the jungle without seeing a single flash of orange tiger fur.

Suddenly there was a roar from somewhere deep in the jungle. Elephant froze and turned his head to see where the sound had come from. "Come on you stupid beast!" Shouted Bill and whipped Elephant aggressively behind his ears.

Elephant stomped through the lush foliage until he reached a strange looking tree. It had huge claw marks scratched into its bark. Strange, thought Bill, I didn't know tigers did that. To Bill's shock, Elephant sat down abruptly beside the tree, throwing him off.

He landed painfully on a hard tree root. "You stupid little..." started Bill, advancing towards Elephant and cracking his whip.

He was cut off by a menacing growl. He turned to see a huge orange and black tiger stalking menacingly towards him. Elephant tooted gently. He looked totally relaxed.

Suddenly yet another tiger appeared. And another. Bill smiled. Tigers were extremely territorial. Surely they would turn against each other?

They didn't. Three tigers circled him tightly, snarling. One finally made a move, pouncing and pinning him down. Bill gasped. "You beast!" He screamed at Elephant, who was still sat down calmly. "You! You led me here!" The tiger on his chest growled and dug it's claws into him.

Elephant just sat there and watched.

The End