Week 11 Story: The Pangaea Races

The Pangaea Races

Late at night, whenever the zoo closes, the Pangaea Zoo came alive. All of the animals would roam free and had made friends with each other - but with that, some also became enemies. Specifically, the cheetahs and the tigers always fought each other; the zookeeper Eve, was beautiful, and Cheetah and Tiger were both in love with her. Eve couldn't decide between the two, so one day she decided that they should race each other, and whoever won, she would marry.

So one clear night, once the zoo had closed for the night and all the visitors had left, Cheetah and Tiger got in their places. They were going to start at the elephant exhibit, and go around the Earth as far as Pangaea went until they got back into the zoo.

"I'm the fastest animal in the zoo," Tiger scoffed. 

"The zoo?" Cheetah laughed in his face. "I'm the fastest animal in the entire land...and that includes the zoo."

They stood at the starting line, Eve in-between them. And in the next second, they were off. Immediately, Cheetah was in the lead but Tiger didn't go without a fight. He stayed on Cheetah's tail all day long, but once night fell, Tiger started to become tired. 

The next morning, Tiger was well-rested and set off again. Cheetah had finally decided to take a break, and while he was eating an antelope nearby, Tiger passed him. He was shocked; how was he able to pass him? But he kept going and didn't stop again until he slept that night. After days of going back and forth of who was in the lead, the seventh day came. 

Tiger and Cheetah were neck and neck, pushing with the last amount of energy they each had. They could see the sign for the Pangaea Zoo in the distance, and Eve was waiting right there at the finish line. In the last instant - they came in at a tie. 

"I can't believe it!" Eve said. What am I supposed to do now? she thought. She couldn't marry both of them...so for now, she decided to stay single. 

Cheetah vs Tiger. Link here

Author's Note: In The Race Between the Crane and the Hummingbird, the Hummingbird and the Crane were both in love with the same woman. She loved the Hummingbird more, who was handsome, and the Crane was awkward, but so persistent. In order to get rid of the Crane, she told him that he must challenge the Hummingbird to a race and that she would marry the winner. She knew that the Hummingbird was as fast as lightning and that the Crane was slow and heavy, so she felt sure of her decision.

They agreed to start flying from her house and go around the circle of the world. The Hummingbird darted off and was soon out of sight, leaving the Crane in the dust. He flew all day and stopped at night to rest, knowing he was far ahead. But the Crane continued throughout the night and didn't stop until sunrise, when he stopped at a creek to rest and eat some tadpoles. When the Hummingbird awoke and continued flying, he passed the creek and wondered how the Crane ever passed him but continued on and soon lost him again. This went back and forth for several days, but the Crane ended up winning the race. When the Hummingbird arrived the next afternoon to find out he had lost the race, the woman had already declared she would never marry someone as ugly as the Crane. So she stayed single. 

I decided to keep the plot mostly the same but change it so that the zookeeper didn't seem as shallow as the woman in the original story (just because the Crane was ugly). I also wanted to make it more interesting because both Cheetah and Tiger are fast, so I made it a tie and kept the ending the same (she stayed single)!

Bibliography: The Race Between the Crane and the Hummingbird in Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney (1900).