Liger

Liger
GENERAL
The Wizard of Oz
Character	Cowardly Lion
Character	Hungry Tiger
Canonical?	Fanon
Status of Relationship	Close Friends
IN FANDOM
Type (?)	Slash

1

Liger is the slash ship between the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger from the The Wizard of Oz fandom.

Canon

Ozma of Oz

After the adventures Dorothy had in the first book, resulting in her friend the Cowardly Lion becoming King of Beasts, he had befriended the Hungry Tiger off-screen. When Princess Ozma took her rightful place on the throne in Emerald City, the Cowardly Lion and Hungry Tiger were tasked to pull her chariot everywhere she wished to go.

When Dorothy ended up in Ev, in another fairy country and just happened to be imprisoned by Princess Langvidere while Ozma was travelling to Ev to help restore power in the neighboring country, the Lion and Tiger were told to wait and guard the chariot until Ozma returned from saving Dorothy from the vain princess. Dorothy was overjoyed to see her friends again and hugged the Cowardly Lion as soon as she saw him, but didn't recognize the Hungry Tiger. The Lion introduced his friend to Dorothy, explaining that just like the Lion was afraid of everything, the Tiger was always hungry, for his conscience did not allow him to eat the "fat babies" he's so hungry for, knowing it is wrong to eat living things. The Lion explained to Dorothy that he and the Tiger became close friends while she was away.

The two of them were invited inside and the servants of the Evian princess tried their best to satisfy the Tiger's hunger. They already knew that the royal family of Ev had been sold by their king father to the Nome King into slavery and then disappeared, only leaving Langvidere as a successor, who had no interest in ruling a country. So Ozma tasked the two big cats to pull her chariot to the Nome King's underground kingdom. However, an Iron Giant hammering against the road blocked their way, leading to the two big cats having to jump beneath the giant's hammer with Dorothy on the Tiger's and Ozma on the Lion's back. But because Ozma brought her twenty-seven soldiers and the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman along with her, they had to jump beneath the hammer at least ten times more, leaving the chariot.

Finally arriving at the Nome King's underground domain, said king was quite jolly, but uninterested in allowing the Ozians to take his "property" by force, he had turned the Queen of Ev and her ten children into priceless ornaments. When it became clear that the Nome King couldn't be reasoned with, the Lion and Tiger offered to just tear him into pieces, but then discovered that he was protected by some kind of invisible shield. So the two of them were told to wait outside until Ozma resolved this issue diplomatically. Eventually, the entourage manages to trick the Nome King with his own words, freeing the royal family and all the companions they lost to him in their previous attempts and return to the Kingdom of Ev on the backs of the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger.

After attending the coronation of the new King of Ev, they returned to the Emerald City to have a feast. The Hungry Tiger and Cowardly Lion were allowed to eat with their friends and the Tiger was such a glutton that he ate most of the food, finally admitting that he's full.

Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz

The Lion and the Tiger were roaming the halls of the Emerald City together as they attending the celebration for the return of Dorothy and the Wizard. Dorothy hugged both of them when greeting them, but the narration mentions that she loved the Cowardly Lion more as she knew him longer.

They also encounter Jim, the cab-horse of Dorothy's second cousin Zeb (who both accompanied her in her latest journey against their will), with Jim being initially frightened of the two beasts. They reassure him that they mean no harm, and even if the Tiger wanted to eat living beings, he probably wouldn't eat Jim for he was old and boney.

However, when Jim injured Ozma's sentient Saw-Horse, not being able to handle losing the race to a horse made from wood, the Lion and Tiger attacked him and warned him that they will tear him apart should he ever harm one of their friends again. That conflict is resolved when Jim willingly returns to the United States with Zeb, believing that Oz has no place for a real horse.

Little Wizard Stories of Oz: The Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger

The Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger have grown bored with their guard duty at Ozma's throne in the Royal Palace of the Emerald City. The Lion wants to attack a man and make "chop suey of him." The Tiger longs, at last, to satisfy his hunger for a fat baby. The two big cats prowl the emerald streets with mayhem in mind. Neither cat, however, can bring himself to fulfill his darker desires. The two end up saving a lost child and returning him to his mother.

Fanon

Liger is a rarepair in the Oz fandom, but it's a popular ship for the Cowardly Lion, whose non-human nature means that he isn't shipped with the other characters very often.

For what it's worth, it appears to be more popular in fanart than fanfiction.

Fandom

FAN FICTION

Lion/Tiger tag on AO3

Lion & Tiger tag on AO3

TUMBLR

Cowardly Lion x Hungry Tiger tag on Tumblr

Cowardly Lion x Hungry Tiger posts on Tumblr

Cowardly Lion and Hungry Tiger posts on Tumblr

Trivia

• A "Liger" is an actually recognized term for a cross-breed between a male lion and a female tiger.
• One of the few adaptations of the Oz canon to actually feature the Hungry Tiger, Tom & Jerry: Back to Oz, also turned the Tiger female for whatever reason.