First Get Your Tiger

A far-away land had the same proverbial warning about riding a tiger as us, except that tigers were not unknown in those parts.  A villager with an inquiring bent of mind one day thought that the trouble with riding the tiger was not the ride, but what happened on getting off.  Whereas, he thought, if you could contrive to stay on safely, it would truly be a magnificent steed.  Could it be made safe?

He did a close study of the different types of harnessing for horses and oxen and reflected how to adapt them to a tiger.  Certain aspects would need to be strengthened, others changed . . .  He worked and tried and discarded and improved and created a system that got better and better.  He even made a life-size fully articulated wooden model of a tiger to experiment on.  At last he was ready.  He had made a peculiar and very sturdy saddle at the center of an intricate and interwoven network of large and small leather straps that allowed fine control of the movements of the tiger and dampened its wayward movements.  There were also semi-detachable sheaths for the riders legs and, in short, any number of ingenious and well-though out contrivances.  As close to perfection as anything can be in this world, his tiger-riding harness was perfect.

He hoisted his harness onto his shoulders and set out into the jungle to try it out on an actual tiger.

On his way he met an actual tiger.  The tiger sprang on him and devoured him before he could even lift the harness off his back.