Why have the words, 'pretended' and 'seemed' been used in the lines:

...Pretended to believe every single word

of what the tiger king said.

And seemed to be taken in by all the lies.

How does the sense of these lines connect with the line 'Ajamil wasn't a fool'?

Ajamil, the good shepherd, was not a fool. The tigers' king requested him to set all the tigers free; the sheepdog tried to convince Ajamil that the tigers had come to him to offer a friendly hand. Ajamil though agreed to him and cut them all lose and even offered them a feast and signed a pact with the king of tigers that they were friends thenceforth. Ajamil was a fine politician and did not want to mess up with the lot and believed it best to maintain cordial relation with them. So, though he knew inside that, today or tomorrow, the tigers would attack the sheep again. He pretended that he believed all what the king told him and accepted the friendship offered by the tiger. He portrayed it so well that Ajamil seemed taken in by all the lies of the tiger, but in heart he knew that they will return to hunt. So, he felt it better to sacrifice a few sheep every time rather than losing them all in a possible fierce battle where he might lose his reign absolutely. It is also a little disheartening, his lack of confidence in his sheepdog. However, he played it safe and avoided the risk that was hovering over his kingdom.

  • 0
What are you looking for?