The Tiger, the Brahmin and the Jackal and asks to see the trap. Once there he claims he still doesn't understand. The tiger gets back in the trap to demonstrate and the jackal quickly shuts him in, suggesting to the brahmin that they leave matters thus. There are more than a hundred versions of this tale spread across the world. In some the released animal is a crocodile, in some a snake, a tiger and others a wolf. Some variants are very old, going back at least to the "Panchatantra" or "Fables of Bidpai" and the Jataka tales. In Europe it appeared some 900 years ago in
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