“Uncle Tiger,  you must be very hungry.  I guess that’s why you are going to eat this poor old body.  But wouldn’t a fish be better than an old dog?  I have just eaten a lot of fish here.”

Attracted by the word fish, the tiger allowed himself to be lured by the sly dog and said, “If I could eat fish from the river, I would not kill you.  But how can I find a fish in this frozen river?”  “Don’t you know fish will rise at your tail if you put it in the water?  Fish will rise at anything now, because they can hardly find any good food in the water in the winter.  You shall certainly catch more than ten fish at a time.”

“You say I have to put my tail in the water just as people drop their fishing lines?”  “Sure, Uncle Tiger.  There are many holes already made in the ice.  Put your tail in the water and you will catch some big carp, because fish especially like a furry body.  Pull your tail up as soon as they bite, and you will have them splashing on the ice.  Which would you choose to eat, such tasty fish or this old dog?”  “I’ll take fish.”

Deceived by the cunning dog, the tiger was pleased with himself.  “Come here, Uncle,” said Nureongi as he took the tiger to a place where, earlier in the day, fishermen had angled for fish.  He broke the ice easily, for the place was not yet frozen thickly.  “Uncle, everything is ready now.  Put your tail in this hole and wait a minute.  Fish will rise at your tail.”

The tiger put his tail in the hole, and it throbbed with pain as if someone had pricked it with a needle.  “Ouch!  It hurts,” cried the tiger.  “Sir, there is nothing you can do but tolerate it for a while.  The river waters are ice cold.  Bear with it just a minute.”  The tiger could do nothing but endure the pain, his tail in the freezing water.  The old dog sat beside the tiger and said, “Fishermen catch hundreds of fish every day in this river.  When it gets dark, they go back home.  Then I steal out of the village and catch fish after they are gone.”

“Is that true?  I never knew anything about that at all,” said the tiger.  “It is natural for you not to know about it because you live in the mountains.  But you will come here to catch fish every night once you eat it.”  “Is it so tasty?”  “Of course it is.”  “Oh, my tail feels so heavy,” said the tiger, grimacing.  The broken hole began to freeze again.  Feigning indifference, the sly dog said, “That’s because the big fish are biting.  You will have a big catch if you wait a minute.”

Nureongi made the tiger keep his tail in the river for as long as possible.  The tiger was in great pain, because his tail had begun to freeze.