少年派的奇幻漂流 Chapter 72

Chapter 72

In my case, to protect myself from Richard Parker while I trained him, I made a shield with a turtle shell. I cut a notch¹ on each side of the shell and connected them with a length of rope. The shield was heavier than I would have liked, but do soldiers ever get to choose their ordnance²?

The first time I tried, Richard Parker bared his teeth, rotated his ears full round, vomited³ a short guttural roar and charged. A great, full-clawed paw rose in the air and cuffed⁴ my shield. The blow sent me flying off the boat. I hit the water and instantly let go of the shield. It sank without a trace after hitting me in the shin. I was beside myself with terror - of Richard Parker, but also of being in the water. In my mind a shark was at that very second shooting up for me. I swam for the raft in frantic⁵ strokes, precisely⁶ the sort of wild thrashing that sharks find so deliciously inviting⁷. Luckily there were no sharks. I reached the raft, let out all the rope and sat with my arms wrapped around my knees and my head down, trying to put out the fire of fear that was blazing within me. It was a long time before the trembling of my body stopped completely. I stayed on the raft for the rest of that day and the whole night. I did not eat or drink.

I was at it again next time I caught a turtle. Its shell was smaller, lighter⁸, and made for a better shield. Once more I advanced and started stamping on the middle bench with my foot.

I wonder if those who hear this story will understand that my behaviour was not an act of insanity⁹ or a covert¹⁰ suicide attempt but a simple necessity. Either I tamed him, made him see who was Number One and who was Number Two - or I died the day I wanted to climb aboard the lifeboat during rough weather and he objected.

If I survived my apprenticeship¹¹ as a high seas animal trainer it was because Richard Parker did not really want to attack me. Tigers, indeed all animals, do not favour violence as a means of settling scores. When animals fight, it is with the intent to kill and with the understanding that they may be killed. A clash is costly¹². And so animals have a full system of cautionary signals designed to avoid a showdown, and they are quick to back down when they feel they can. Rarely will a tiger attack a fellow predator¹³ without warning. Typically a head-on rush for the adversary¹⁴ will be made, with much snarling¹⁵ and growling¹⁶. But just before it is too late, the tiger will freeze, the menace rumbling¹⁷ deep in its throat. It will appraise¹⁸ the situation. If it decides that there is no threat, it will turn away, feeling that its point has been made.

Richard Parker made his point with me four times. Four times he struck at me with his right paw and sent me overboard, and four times I lost my shield. I was terrified before, during and after each attack, and I spent a long time shivering with fear on the raft. Eventually I learned to read the signals he was sending me. I found that with his ears, his eyes, his whiskers, his teeth, his tail and his throat, he spoke¹⁹ a simple, forcefully punctuated²⁰ language that told me what his next move might be. I learned to back down before he lifted his paw in the air.

Then I made my point, feet on the gunnel, boat rolling, my single-note language blasting from the whistle, and Richard Parker moaning and gasping²¹ at the bottom of the boat.

My fifth shield lasted me the rest of his training.

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