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A Heroic Deed

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Submitted By MWAJAAHATH
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Stories of men are full of heroic deeds. One of the acts of heroism that I have seen myself was that of my uncle, who was attacked by a huge tiger while we were once in our plantation.My uncle, a young and well-built man, and I left our home early in the morning to do business in the plantation. When we reached there, we could hear some dogs barking from the distance. We, however, did not suspect anything. As usual, we began to do our work.While we were working, we noticed some foot-prints of an animal. We then examined them closely and were satisfied that they did not belong to any member of the cat family, the most ferocious of animals. We then resumed our work. My uncle took a long knife and began to cut some sticks and branches of plants scattered throughout the plantation, while I did some other work.Soon, however, I saw a movement in the bush at a short distance away. I was alarmed. I ran up to my uncle to draw this attention, but he was hardly interested in what I said. He kept on working. Shortly afterwards, my uncle himself observed the movement in the bush. Yet, he showed no signs of fear, and his composure dispelled my anxieties. He warned me to be careful, and picked up an axe that had been lying on the ground. He gave his knife to me. He moved slowly and cautiously towards the bush, ready for any attack.To our horror, a huge tiger soon emerged from the bush. My uncle was prepared to face it, to escape seemed impossible. The tiger too seemed to be fully aware of the strength and courage of its adversary. It paused several times while advancing towards my uncle. Then, all of a sudden, it sprang on my uncle, but his agility enabled him to escape the sharp claws of the brute with the slightest injury. Now with the axe still in his firm grip, my uncle struck the tigers face again and again, until it was bleeding profusely. The length of the handle of the axe made it difficult for the tiger to get too close to my uncle. That the tiger was at a disadvantage was clear to me from the beginning.In the end, however, the tiger collapsed and died. Within hours, after that all the people in our area heard of my uncle’s bravery, which saved both of us from death. It was indeed a greatest act of heroism that I had witnessed.

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