Tiger Balm

I was a terribly truant and sickly student from preschool through kindergarten. In those 3 years, I probably only went to school a maximum of 200 days, spending the bulk of the time at home with my mom. And working in textiles. Consequently, I'm terrible with nursery rhymes, the Mandarin alphabet (Taiwan), and fairy tales. It didn't help that my mom liked to be 'creative.' Even now, I'm not sure if half the stories she told me were made up or part of a greater folk lore.

I do remember one song we sang in school, Tiger Witch (or Tiger Grandma, which sounds even stranger). And woke up thinking of it this morning. It's a kindergarten classic. Perfect for talent shows because of its vivid lyrics. (And as these songs are apt to, full of alarming lyrics for toddlers to belt out and act out.)

The Tiger Witch

Mama once told me a far, faraway tale,
in the darkest of dark nights,
there comes the Tiger Witch.

Don't cry, crybabies, or she will eat your little ears
Go to sleep, if you're still up, or she will eat your little fingers,

I still remember closing my eyes to say,
Don't bite me, Tiger Witch,
This sweet child is going to bed.

Youtube is full of clips of children screaming the song out in preschools, homes, and dance classes*, all over Taiwan. I feel like a stalker sharing them, but it's all in the interest of helping you understand, so please, don't be creepy.


*Clip not from dance class. Dance class ones were all duds. It's a kindergarten "graduation" performance. Extra kicks because they're all wearing weird costumes.