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,
Seeing the elephant the idiom to "see the lions," which is a likely ancestor to seeing the elephant. This referred to the Tower of London which is thought to have been one of the world's oldest zoos. The monarchs kept a menagerie of animals inside the tower including several types of cats. Travelers and visitors were hopeful for a glimpse of the animals, especially the lion which was the living emblem of the king. In comparison to the American elephant seen by Easterners or city people in the country, the English lion was seen by country peasants in the city. The phrase took