SANG KANCIL, THE CLEVER 

MOUSE-
DEER
Assalamualaikum and good morning to
everyone. Today, I would like to tell a story of
Sang Kancil and the crocodiles.
Long, long ago, deep in the forest, there lived a tiny
mouse-deer named Sang Kancil. Despite his size, he
was spunky and clever, and all the other animals
respected him.
Sang Kancil loved to eat tropical fruits ~ Rambutan,
Durian, Mangosteen, and his favorite one was the Jambu
Air.
One hot afternoon, Sang Kancil was foraging for fruits in
the forest when he felt thirsty. So, he went down to the
river to drink. When he reached there, he saw a tree on
the opposite side, full of ripe and juicy water apples.
“Yay, jambu air!” Sang Kancil squealed with delight. “But
how do I get across? The river is wide and deep, and I
can’t swim. I will surely drown!” he pondered aloud.
A crocodile who was taking a nap nearby, awoke when
he heard Sang Kancil’s voice.
“Sang Kancil! Why are you making so much noise?! I
am trying to get some sleep!” said the crocodile.
In his excitement at seeing the fruit tree, Sang Kancil did
not notice the sleeping crocodile. He startled at first but
quickly recovered, and decided to trick the crocodile.
“Ah, there you are Sang Buaya! I have called you many
times. You must be deaf!” Sang Kancil bravely replied.
“Well, I am here now! What do you want from me?!” The
crocodile was obviously annoyed with the little mouse-
deer.
“Oh, but I don’t want anything from you, Sang Buaya. I
am here on the Sultan’s orders. His Majesty has ordered
me to count the number of crocodiles in this river. There
will be a big reward for each of you if you help me.”
Sang Kancil said earnestly to the crocodile.
“A reward, you say…?!” The crocodile was now fully
awake.
Without further ado, he began to slap his tail on the
water to wake the other crocodiles who were sleeping in
the river.
Splish! Splash! Splosh! They all lined up side by side
like a bridge, across the river.
Sang Kancil could hardly hide his excitement at seeing
this. “This is easier than I thought!” he chuckled to himself.
Sang Kancil then hopped, skipped and jumped on the
back of each crocodile, counting aloud as he merrily
went along:
“One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight…
Lay still, Sang Buaya, line up straight!
Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Water Apples I must have.”
Sang Kancil was overjoyed when he finally reached the
opposite bank.
“Thank you for helping me cross the river, Sang Buaya!
Now I can eat all the Water Apples I want…” and waved
happily to the angry crocodiles.
That’s all from me. Thank you.