A long time ago, there lived a man and his wife in a village in Manipur. The couple had no children for many years. After offering prayers to the Almighty, they were finally blessed with a baby boy. However, the child was extremely stubborn. Whenever he wanted something, he would cry continuously until his demands were met.
Since they were a small family, the parents took turns caring for their son. When the husband went out, the wife looked after the child, and when the wife went out, the husband cared for him. Thus, they shared the responsibility of raising their difficult son.
One Wednesday night, during the waning phase of the moon, darkness covered the village. Heavy rain fell incessantly, creating a gloomy and threatening atmosphere.
Near the family's house stood a stable where their horse was kept. That night, a ferocious tiger had secretly entered the stable, waiting for an opportunity to kill the horse. At the same time, a thief was hiding nearby, planning to steal the horse under the cover of darkness.
The wife had gone to the market, leaving the husband to look after their son. The child cried endlessly despite all his father's efforts to calm him. Finally, unable to bear the crying any longer, the father carried the child to the portico and tried to frighten him into silence.
Looking at his son, he said, "Look! A tiger is coming! A tiger is coming!"
The tiger hiding in the stable heard these words and became frightened. It thought the man had discovered its presence. Quickly, it shifted position to avoid being seen. However, the child continued crying.
The father then mentioned several other wild animals—lion, wolf, bear, and elephant—but the boy remained unmoved. Eventually, carrying his son, the man returned inside the house and continued trying to soothe him.
Meanwhile, the wife was returning home. To protect herself from the rain, she wore a yenpak, a wide hat made from bamboo strips. Rainwater dripped heavily from the edge of her hat as she stood quietly at the edge of the portico, listening to see whether her son was still crying.
Suddenly, the father shouted loudly,
"Oh my God! Here comes Tapta! Here comes Tapta!"
The moment the child heard the name "Tapta," he trembled with fear and immediately stopped crying. Clinging tightly to his father, he remained silent.
Realizing that the mysterious name had frightened his son, the father continued,
"Go away, Tapta! Go back to your place. My son has stopped crying."
Soon afterward, the exhausted child fell asleep.
The wife remained standing silently at the portico while the rain continued to fall. The thief hiding nearby and the tiger waiting in the stable both saw her shadowy figure. They assumed that she was the terrifying Tapta.
Since the child had stopped crying the moment Tapta's name was mentioned, both the tiger and the thief imagined Tapta to be a powerful, intelligent, and fearsome creature.
Terrified, the tiger slowly approached the horse and stood beside it, trying to disguise itself. Meanwhile, the thief quietly entered the stable intending to steal the horse.
Because it was pitch dark, the thief accidentally touched one of the tiger's legs. The tiger immediately thought that the dreaded Tapta had caught hold of it. It became so frightened that it dared not resist.
The thief, on the other hand, felt the animal's large, strong legs and assumed he had found a particularly sturdy horse. He mounted the tiger and prepared to ride away.
Too frightened to oppose what it believed was Tapta, the tiger obeyed every movement of the rider. It began running wildly through the night.
The thief thought he was riding a strange, short-legged horse, while the tiger believed Tapta was sitting on its back. Neither could see the other in the darkness.
The rain continued to fall as the tiger ran through fields, bushes, and forests until dawn.
When daylight finally broke, the thief realized to his horror that he was riding a tiger. His fear grew, but he remained calm and waited for an opportunity to escape.
As they passed a roadside tree, he suddenly leaped from the tiger's back and grabbed a low-hanging branch. Hanging safely from the tree, he watched the tiger continue running without looking back.
After some time, the tiger met a bear.
"My friend," asked the bear, "why are you running so fast?"
Panting heavily, the tiger replied,
"I have barely escaped from the clutches of Tapta!"
The bear became curious.
"What does Tapta look like? Where is it?"
The tiger pointed toward the distant tree and said,
"Tapta was hanging from the branches of that tree."
The bear laughed and suggested,
"Come, let us go and kill this creature together."
But the tiger refused.
"I am too afraid. If you want to fight Tapta, go alone."
With that, the tiger ran away shouting,
"Beware! Here comes the mighty Tapta!"
The bear approached the tree by himself.
Meanwhile, the thief had seen the bear coming and hidden inside the hollow of a dead tree trunk nearby.
The bear searched the tree but found nothing. Then he noticed the hollow trunk and pushed his tail into the opening to investigate.
Inside, the frightened thief grabbed the bear's tail with all his strength and then suddenly released it.
The bear tumbled backward and landed heavily on the ground. Terrified, he sprang to his feet and fled, shouting,
"No Tapta! No Tapta! It is the Tail Puller! The Tail Puller!"
While running, the bear met an elephant.
"What happened, my friend?" asked the elephant.
Pointing toward the tree, the bear replied,
"A terrible Tail Puller is hiding in that hollow tree."
The elephant suggested they investigate together. Though afraid, the bear agreed to ride on the elephant's back.
When they reached the tree, the elephant extended its trunk into the hollow to inspect it.
Inside, the thief panicked. Pulling out a small knife, he cut the tip of the elephant's trunk.
The elephant screamed in pain and bolted away.
"No Tail Puller! No Tail Puller! It is the Trunk Cutter! The Trunk Cutter!"
As they fled, the elephant insisted the creature was a Trunk Cutter, while the bear maintained it was a Tail Puller.
Eventually, they arrived at the lion's den. There they found the tiger already telling the lion about the fearsome Tapta.
The bear described a Tail Puller. The elephant described a Trunk Cutter. The tiger insisted it was the mighty Tapta.
The lion, king of the beasts, was confused by the different stories. Determined to discover the truth, he ordered all the animals of the jungle to accompany him to the spot.
Seeing a large group of animals approaching, the thief quickly emerged from the hollow tree and fled for his life.
The animals reached the tree, broke open the hollow trunk, and searched everywhere. However, they found nothing.
Although the mysterious creature was never discovered, the tiger never forgot the terrifying words it had heard that rainy night:
"Here comes the mighty Tapta!"
