In my reading class, we were assigned to read the short story, "The Lady or the Tiger?" by Frank Stockton. The story finishes with a cliff hanger, and our teacher offered us an extra credit opportunity to write our own ending of the story.
Summary (found on wikipedia): The semi-barbaric king of an ancient land used an unusual form of 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 beautiful woman hand-picked by the king and behind the other was a fierce tiger. The offender was then asked to pick one of the doors without knowing what was behind it. If he picked the door with the woman behind it, then he was declared innocent but was also required to marry the woman, regardless of previous marital status. If he picked the door with the tiger behind it, though, then he was deemed guilty and the tiger would rip him to pieces.
One day the king found that his daughter, the princess, had taken a lover far beneath her station. The king could not allow this and so he threw the offender in prison and set a date for his trial in the arena. On the day of his trial the suitor looked to the princess for some indication of which door to pick. The princess did, in fact, know which door concealed the woman and which one the tiger, but was faced with a conundrum[disambiguation needed]—if she indicated the door with the tiger, then the man she loved would be killed on the spot; however, if she indicated the door with the lady, her lover would be forced to marry another woman, a woman that the princess deeply hated and believed her lover has flirted with. Finally she did indicate a door, which the suitor then opened.
At this point the question is posed to the reader, "Did the tiger come out of that door, or did the lady?"
Summary (found on wikipedia): The semi-barbaric king of an ancient land used an unusual form of 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 beautiful woman hand-picked by the king and behind the other was a fierce tiger. The offender was then asked to pick one of the doors without knowing what was behind it. If he picked the door with the woman behind it, then he was declared innocent but was also required to marry the woman, regardless of previous marital status. If he picked the door with the tiger behind it, though, then he was deemed guilty and the tiger would rip him to pieces.
One day the king found that his daughter, the princess, had taken a lover far beneath her station. The king could not allow this and so he threw the offender in prison and set a date for his trial in the arena. On the day of his trial the suitor looked to the princess for some indication of which door to pick. The princess did, in fact, know which door concealed the woman and which one the tiger, but was faced with a conundrum[disambiguation needed]—if she indicated the door with the tiger, then the man she loved would be killed on the spot; however, if she indicated the door with the lady, her lover would be forced to marry another woman, a woman that the princess deeply hated and believed her lover has flirted with. Finally she did indicate a door, which the suitor then opened.
At this point the question is posed to the reader, "Did the tiger come out of that door, or did the lady?"
My ending: The young criminal breathed a long sigh of relief as the wooden door opened and a beautiful maiden stepped out. She smiled and walked to the now-forgiven criminal and they embraced. Throughout the stadium rang cheers and shouts of joy, as the two would soon be married.
As all eyes were focused on the free man and the lovely woman in the center of the stadium, no one noticed that the princess, who was forced to witness the whole affair, had rushed out of her seat and into the commons of the stadium. She couldn’t bear another minute in which she had to watch the man she loved be married off to a beautiful stranger. After composing herself, she returned to her seat next to her father, who looked very pleased. “He must have been innocent; for look of the pure joy and happiness on his face,” the king commented to no one in particular. A smile was plastered on his face, but the king’s eyes did not seem to smile as they looked hesitantly at his daughter for a reply. The princess simply looked back at the scene in the arena. She soon found herself looking into the eyes of the man she loved, who now stood with another woman. His eyes seemed to being longing for the princess, but the princess would not allow herself to feel for him. He was alive, and whether or not it be with another woman, that was all that mattered. However, she knew that her love for him could never be known to anyone but the two of them.
The crowds died down and the towns folk began to make their way out of the arena. The princess blended herself into these crowds as she snuck into the back rooms behind the two doors from which the criminal could have chosen. She found herself in a narrow hallway, and soon she faced the option of two doors, just as the criminal had nearly an hour ago. One door was labeled “maiden”, the other, “tiger.” She opened the back door to the maiden’s room, and just as she had expected, it was empty. Back out in the hall, she closed her eyes for a moment and enjoyed the contrast of dead silence as opposed to the rowdy noise she had experienced for the last hour. She reached out her arm for the doorknob to the tiger’s room. All in one instance, she quickly turned the knob and walked into the room.
“Thank you for being here, just in case. I’m sorry he didn’t choose you,” said the princess.
“I’m just glad to have served as a backup, my princess,” said a young maiden as she walked out of the shadows in the corner. “But tell me, why did you ask me to be behind the tiger’s door instead of the creature?”
The princess swallowed the lump in her throat before tears appeared. “This young man did not deserve to die.”
**I would really appreciate some feedback, not for the assignment particularly, but about my writing in general. Please no plagiarism. Thank you!
I noticed you were fairly new to YWS, so I also want to encourage you to keep writing and review other people's work. Now, in my reviews i am a little nit-picky about grammar; don't take it personally it's just my specialty. now on to the meat of your review: 
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