The Lady, or the Tiger? The Lady, or the Tiger? "The Lady, or the Tiger?" is a much-anthologized short story written by Frank R. Stockton for publication in the magazine "The Century" in 1882. "The Lady, or the Tiger?" has entered the English language as an allegorical expression, a shorthand indication or signifier, for a problem that is unsolvable. The short story takes place in a land ruled by a semi-barbaric king. Some of the king's ideas are progressive, but others cause people to suffer. One of the king's innovations is the use of a public trial by ordeal as an agent of poetic justice,
Tiger snake which is prefixed to a common name. The common tiger snake has a flat, blunt head, slightly distinct from a robust body. Its body is capable of being flattened along its entire length when the snake is agitated or basking. Its average length is 0.9 m, with a maximum length of 1.2 m, but has been recorded at 2.0 m (or ~6.6 ft). Highly variable in colour, its base colours are brown, grey olive, or green with lighter crossbands usually of creamy yellow. Occasionally, unbanded specimens are found. Scales appear like overlapping shields, especially around the neck. Ventral scales number