Kipling’s grateful tigress having a thorn removed from her paw, 1894
The tigress braces her other paw against a tree while the soldier’s son removes the thorn. The striped animal is the story’s speaking benefactor, not a zoological photograph; her later gift of Sir Buzz belongs to the same episode.
Overview
A soldier’s son removes a thorn from a suffering tigress after she promises to strike a tree instead of him when the pain comes. Her blow splits the tree. In gratitude she gives him a box, telling him not to open it for nine miles; the increasingly heavy box contains the tiny servant Sir Buzz, who says he serves the lad by his mistress’s command.
Temple reports that the narrators called the tigress a bhût, then observes that her benevolent conduct differs from the malignant ghost usually implied by that term. Her earlier life, reason for this form and ultimate fate are not supplied. The boy’s initial suspicion that she is a witch is his reaction to the heavy box, not an independent classification.
Origins & earliest records
Punjabi storytelling collected and adapted in colonial British India
Records & interpretation
Complete Sir Buzz and Temple’s named notes read; full preface read;1894 university-hosted text compared with Gutenberg.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Tales of the Punjab, Told by the People
Sir Buzz, opening tale; corresponding titled notes; illustrationsJ.LockwoodKipling
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
Primary records and illustrations
Flora Annie Steel, Tales of the Punjab, Told by the People (Macmillan,1894); R.C.Temple notes
Sir Buzz. Complete opening tale and titled Sir Buzz notes; Gutenberg anchorsid00028/id01612; UPenn1-1
Complete tale and fullnotes read, plus fullpreface and ToTheLittleReader.1894 title/credits verified in UPenn transcription; token comparison of entire SirBuzz with Gutenberg showed98.8% overlap, remaining spelling/punctuation/OCR/illustration-caption differences inspected. Punjabi names and ghul/bhut distinctions from Temple’s notes, no invented original script.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical collected folktaleSteel, Sir Buzz, complete narrativeResearch access: 2026-10-05
- Collector’s linguistic and comparative notesTemple, Notes to Sir BuzzResearch access: 2026-10-05
- University-hosted historical primary textUniversity of Pennsylvania,1894 edition transcriptionResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
Historical illustrationKipling’s grateful tigress having a thorn removed from her paw, 1894
The tigress braces her other paw against a tree while the soldier’s son removes the thorn. The striped animal is the story’s speaking benefactor, not a zoological photograph; her later gift of Sir Buzz belongs to the same episode.
