# Van Rijn story--tiger-ish folk **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 10, 2017, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-rijn-story-tiger-ish-folk/781895 "2017-03-10T18:45:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2017, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-rijn-story-tiger-ish-folk/781895/1 "2017-03-10T18:45:46Z")
There’s a Van Rijn story where the aliens (actually he’s the alien, since it’s their planet) are biped tiger types. He impresses them by breathing their air (actually he holds his breath when he opens his helmet) and beating one of their warriors hand-to-hand. What’s the name of that frikkin’ story? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2017, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-rijn-story-tiger-ish-folk/781895/2 "2017-03-12T19:22:12Z")
My husband (who is Doper Andy L) thinks it might be “Tiger by the Tail”. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2017, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-rijn-story-tiger-ish-folk/781895/3 "2017-03-12T19:39:35Z")
It sounds a little like the novel Ensign Flandry (also by Poul Anderson.) [Here’s a picture of the cover art](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91iM7p7ILLL.jpg). You can see the Tiger-alien motif clearly. Also, the air on the planet was not breathable by humans, ergo the space helmet. (For fun, I sculpted a replica of the rifle, out of PVC pipe and a hand-carved wooden stock, with gimcracks and scraps glued on for texture. That’s fannish obsession for ya!) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2017, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-rijn-story-tiger-ish-folk/781895/4 "2017-03-12T19:44:47Z")
That’s a Flandry story, not a van Rijn one. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2017, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-rijn-story-tiger-ish-folk/781895/5 "2017-03-12T21:56:26Z")
Yeah, so? The OP might have been mistaken. The description closely fits the novel, Ensign Flandry. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-rijn-story-tiger-ish-folk/781895/6 "2017-03-13T06:21:24Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Yeah, so? The OP might have been mistaken. The description closely fits the novel, Ensign Flandry. Dude, take a chill pill. I was actually commenting on the post before yours, and I wasn’t saying the suggestion doesn’t answer the OP, just pointing out to the OP that they might have been mistaken that it was a van Rijn story _per se_. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-rijn-story-tiger-ish-folk/781895/7 "2017-03-13T23:13:33Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Dude, take a chill pill. I was actually commenting on the post before yours, and I wasn’t saying the suggestion doesn’t answer the OP, just pointing out to the OP that they might have been mistaken that it was a van Rijn story _per se_. I apologize; I thought you were shitting on me. (ETA: Please realize, I had no possible way of knowing you were responding to the post above mine.)