On Thu, 17 Jul 1997, David Lerman wrote:

  What is it with anime and rabbits?  

I don't know. The rabbit is a sort of in-joke that only those who know me,
my sis and chinese astrology would get. I doubt even my sis has noticed.
I'm just waiting for when she does. ;P

  The Lady and the Tiger.

The Lady Tiger
--------------

Once upon a time, in the land of Fanfics, a pilgrim searched for the
answer to an FFML question.  After much hardship and pain, he came upon
two doors. Over both doors was a sign saying "FFML FAQ Co-Maintainer."
However, neither door was labelled. At last, he had made it! 

Turning to an innocent bystander (poor pilgrim, bystanders are hardly ever
innocent), the pilgrim asked, "Pray, tell me, kind sir, which door is the
correct one?"

The bystander replied, "Both lead to the FAQ Co-Maintainer, young pilgrim. 
But one opens to a lady who will answer your question with but a small fee
and the other opens to a tiger. Choose wisely!"  With these parting words,
the bystander quickly walked away on his errand in the direction of
Spamalot.

Turning back to the two doors, the pilgrim pondered which door he should
open. Try as he might, he could not find any difference between the two
doors; both doors looked exactly alike.  Finally, giving up on a logical
solution to the problem, he pulled out a coin, sent a prayer to Lady Luck,
and flipped it. Heads, he'd open the right door and tails, he'd open the
left. 

Tails! Striding to the left door, the pilgrim took a deep breath, opened
the door and boldy walked in.  Inside, he found a well-lit, comfortable
study. A chair and desk sat in the middle of the room facing a window. In
the chair, a lady with her back turned to him sat reading fanfics and
other messages placed on her desk by a white rabbit. <I chose the correct
door!> thought the pilgrim. <Finally, I can get my answer!> 

Walking further into the room, he cleared his throat and said, "Lady
Co-Maintainer, wilt thou answer the question of a poor pilgrim who hath
traveled many miles and suffered many trials to find you?"

Still facing the window, the lady answered, "But of course, good sir, and
what is the question?" And she stood up and turned to face the pilgrim. 

With a shocked cry, the pilgrim took a step back. "Wha- ?!?" was his
mumbled question as he looked upon the lady tigress now facing him.

With a concerned look, she asked, "Prithee, what ails thee, good sir?"

Seeing that the tiger wasn't going to eat him just yet, the pilgrim
gathered his courage and said, "I was told that one of the doors led to a
lady and the other to a tiger. But I see before me a lady and a tiger. Was
I lied to?"

Chuckling, the lady shook her head and said, "Of course not. Turn around
and look behind you."

Doing as she bade him, the pilgrim turned around and saw to his surprise
that there were _two_ corridors leading into this room.

Behind him, the lady continued, "The 'Entrance' and 'Exit' signs
are missing from the doors again, aren't they?  My neighbors in Spamalot
can't seem to pass up a chance to play that joke on travelers and keep
stealing my signs." Shaking her head at the playful nature of her
neighbors, she turned around and sat down again. "It seems I must send
another message asking for the return of my signs again.  And what was the
question you traveled all this way to answer?" 

Turning around and facing the lady tigress, the poor pilgrim grimaced and
answered, "I've forgotten now. *sigh*"

The End.


**********************************************
*  =^.^=  Sapphire, The Blue Tigress  =^.^=  *
*     Co-Maintainer of the Fanfic ML FAQ     *
* --{@   sapphire@uclink.berkeley.edu   @}-- *
**********************************************