A/N: This is a continuation of the short story "The Lady or the Tiger" written by Frank R. Stockton. If you wish to read the original story first you can read it online at various sites.

(The original story leaves the outcome the situation up to the reader...so like I said: this is a continuation. An ending. No more. No less.) Enjoy.

Also, I do not own any rights pertaining to "The Lady or the Tiger." Please don't sue.

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"The Lady or the Tiger"

~The ending~

The door stood open in front of the accused, the princess's lover. Fear had made it impossible to move, think, breathe . . . Staring into the dark doorway he saw a face. 'The lady,' he breathed at long last. A lady, beautiful with youthfulness , stepped through the doorway, her golden, flowing hair swayed with her every step. The crowd was silent, almost as if they were waiting for the lady to turn into a ferocious tiger.

A moment passed, and then another. Then, finally, the lady was face to face with the stunned man. She kissed him lightly on the cheek as if to say, 'It's okay,' and then gently took his arm. The man realized it wasn't a trick, and he was going to get married and not eaten by a ferocious beast. He smiled at his wife-to-be and the two of them began to make their way to the priest who was in the center of the amphitheater.

Up until the couple had taken that first step towards the priest the crowd had still held their breath. But now the amphitheatre was filled with applause and cheering. Everyone was celebrating. Almost everyone, except for the princess who had watched the whole ordeal with tears in her eyes. She had seen the lady with her hair flowing hair kiss the man. She had seen the way her now former lover had smiled. She hid her face in her hands and wept.

Meanwhile, the wedding had begun. Flower petals spotted the floor, trumpets played gaily, and even more applause erupted from the crowd.

When everything was done the man and the lady, now husband and wife, left the amphitheatre, happy to be together. The princess, the semi-barbaric princess, left the amphitheatre alone.