The story is about Jung Jung Bahadur, the Tiger King, whose astrologers foretold at birth that he would die at the hands of a tiger. As a boy, he asks how he will die and is told it will be his 100th tiger. He becomes an avid tiger hunter but depletes the local tiger population. He marries into a family where tigers remain and hunts 99 tigers there. Unaware he has killed his 100th tiger, he suffers an infection from a wooden toy tiger and dies, fulfilling the prophecy. The story criticizes wanton tiger hunting and advocates preserving wildlife.