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The Mouse Deer and The Crocodile
The Mouse Deer and The Crocodile
Once upon a time, there lived a clever mouse deer that we will call Sang Kancil. He lives in the great forest and has many animal friends. There are also other animals that are not so friendly, animals who want to harm him or even eat him. So he always has to keep a watch out for these animals. One day while walking along the river bank, he saw some delicious and yummy fruits on the other side of the river. As he was about to cross the river, his very good friend, the fish, quickly swam near Sang Kancil and warn him of the crocodile. The crocodile, Sang Buaya, is not a friendly animal. He is always trying to catch and eat Sang Kancil. Sang Kancil is aware of that, so he has to think hard, how to cross over, safely. Finally he had a brilliant idea. Sang Kancil shouted for the crocodile "Sang Buaya,Sang Buaya!'The crocodile, hearing the mouse deer, slowly swim nearer to the river bank. "Yes Kancil, what can I do for you. Eat you?" "Ha ha ha, that's funny. Sorry not today" said the mouse deer. 'The king is organizing a grand feast and he has asked me to invite all the animals in the forest. I need to know how many crocodiles will be attending this grand feast.' 'Oh...OK. I will tell the rest of my fellow crocodiles and will let you know later" saidSang Buaya. "I can't wait that long, I need to know the answer, now. Please call all of them. Ask them to line up from this side of the river to the other side, so that I can count all of you' said Sang Kancil Sang Buaya wasn't sure if that's a good idea, but the thought of being invited by the king was too exciting. So he called all the crocodiles in the river, to line up as instructed by the mouse deer. "OK, we are all here. You can count us now" said Sang Buaya. 'But not until you promise not to eat me. Otherwise I will not be able to go back and inform the king on the number of animals, including you, the crocodiles, that will be attending the feast' said the mouse deer. "OK you have our promise' said Sang Buaya. Sang Kancil quickly jumped onto the crocodile's back, counting the number as he jumped from one crocodile to the next crocodile. He keeps jumping and counting until he reached the other side of the river. 'Are you done?' asked the crocodile. 'Yes, and there is no feast, ha ha ha!' laughed Sang Kancil as he quickly ran into the forest, towards the fruit trees. Sang Kancil once again managed to outwit his enemy, Sang Buaya, who is by now so angry that he is even more determined to eat Sang Kancil the next time he comes to the river.
'I am so sorry. I will be in deep trouble if I let you wear the king's magic belt. I rather have trouble from you, than from the king!' said Sang Kancil. The Tiger pleaded and pleaded and finally the mouse deer agreed 'But put it on only after I am gone.' saidSang Kancil. The moment the Tiger tried wearing the 'belt', the snake woke up. The snake was surprised with the Tiger's action and thinks that the Tiger is about to eat him. He quickly wrapped himself around the tiger's neck and body and bit him hard. The Tiger was surprised and realized that the belt is actually a snake and after a hard struggle, managed to escape. The Tiger ran through the forest screaming at the top of his voice ' I am going to kill you, you rascal. Ahhhhh' The Tiger, although still in pain, ran looking for Sang Kancil and finally found him standing next to what he thought was a wasp's nest. 'OK, now that I have caught up with you, don't give me any more funny story about that thing' as he points his finger towards the wasp's nest. 'It is a wasp's nest' said the Tiger. 'A wasp's nest? You got to be joking. This belongs to the king. It is a drum' Sang Kancil said, calmly. 'The king's drum?. It doesn't look like one' said the Tiger. Yes, it is and even though the king will not allow anyone to hit it, I will let you, just to convince you that it is a drum.' said the mouse deer. 'If you say so, I will try' said the Tiger. 'But let me go to that tree over there. I can't bear to hear the sound. It's too loud for me' said Sang Kancil. In actual fact the cunning mouse deer is about to make a dash before the wasps come out. 'Alright' said the stupid Tiger. The moment the Tiger hit the 'drum', the wasp came buzzing out and start to bite the Tiger. 'Ouch, ouch, ouch. Ohhh I have been tricked again' moaned the Tiger. The Tiger ran but the wasps continue to chase him. He finally came to the nearest river and jumped in. He stayed underwater for what seems like a long, long time. When he finally emerged from the river, the wasp had gone. But by then Sang Kancil is already far away and never to be seen.