The Lady or the Tiger?

The Lady or the Tiger? was written by Frank R. Stockton in 1882. The "semibarbaric king" of an ancient land used an unusual punishment for offenders in his kingdom. The offender would be placed in an arena where his only way out would be to go through one of two doors. Behind one door was a woman picked by the king whom he would subsequently marry, regardless of whether he was already married or not. Behind the other door was a ravenous tiger which would rip him to pieces.

One day, a lover beneath the station of the king's daughter was thrown into prison by the king and sentenced to the arena. And the story ends after he's opened one of the doors, which leaves the reader asking, "The lady, or the tiger?"

From its publication and surprise ending, "the lady or the tiger" has come into english language as a reference to an unsolvable problem. A continuation of this story appeared later as The Discourager of Hesitancy.