The Mouse Deer and the Crocodiles
Sang Kancil dengan Buaya
Di dalam sebuah hutan, tinggal seekor Sang Kancil yang sangat cerdik.
Pada suatu hari, Sang Kancil berasa sangat lapar. Dia berjalan di tepi sungai untuk mencari makanan.
Tiba-tiba, dia ternampak sepohon pokok ciku di seberang sungai. Pokok itu penuh dengan buah ciku yang sudah masak.
“Wah, sedapnya buah ciku itu!” kata Sang Kancil.
Namun, sungai itu sangat dalam dan airnya mengalir deras.
“Macam mana aku nak menyeberangi sungai ni?” fikir Sang Kancil.
Ketika Sang Kancil sedang berfikir, beberapa ekor buaya muncul di permukaan air. Buaya-buaya itu juga lapar. Mereka memandang Sang Kancil.
Seekor buaya berkata, “Mari kita makan Sang Kancil!”
Sang Kancil terdengar kata-kata mereka, tetapi dia tidak takut. Tiba-tiba, dia mendapat satu akal.
“Hai, Buaya!” jerit Sang Kancil. “Raja Rimba akan mengadakan jamuan besar. Baginda mahu menjemput semua buaya.”
“Jamuan besar?” tanya seekor buaya.
“Ya,” jawab Sang Kancil. “Tetapi Raja Rimba mahu tahu berapa ekor buaya yang tinggal di sungai ini. Engkau orang mesti berbaris supaya aku boleh kira.”
Buaya-buaya itu percaya akan kata-kata Sang Kancil. Mereka pun berbaris dari tepi sungai hingga ke seberang.
Sang Kancil melompat ke atas belakang buaya yang pertama. Kemudian, dia melompat dari seekor buaya ke seekor buaya yang lain sambil berkata,
“Satu, dua, berbaris rapat,
Tiga, empat, tunggu di tempat,
Lima ekor, kiraan tepat,
Terima kasih, aku selamat!”
Sang Kancil pun melompat ke tebing di seberang sungai.
Dia berpaling lalu ketawa.
“Ha, ha! Sebenarnya, tidak ada jamuan daripada Raja Rimba. Aku cuma mahu menyeberangi sungai!”
Buaya-buaya itu terkejut.
“Apa?” jerit seekor buaya. “Sang Kancil sudah menipu kita!”
“Kita telah menjadi jambatannya!” kata buaya yang lain dengan marah.
Seekor buaya cuba menangkap Sang Kancil, tetapi Sang Kancil sudah berada jauh dari sungai.
Sang Kancil terus berlari ke pokok ciku. Dia duduk di bawah pokok itu lalu makan buah ciku yang manis dengan gembira.
Buaya-buaya itu hanya mampu melihat dari dalam sungai.
Sekali lagi, Sang Kancil berjaya menyelamatkan diri dengan menggunakan akalnya.
Key Vocabulary
English Translation
The Mouse Deer and the Crocodiles
In a forest lived a very clever Mouse Deer.
One day, the Mouse Deer was very hungry. He walked along the riverbank looking for food.
Suddenly, he spotted a sapodilla tree on the other side of the river. The tree was full of ripe sapodillas.
“Wow, those sapodillas look delicious!” said the Mouse Deer.
But the river was very deep, and the water was flowing fast.
“How am I going to cross this river?” the Mouse Deer thought.
While Mouse Deer was thinking, several crocodiles appeared at the surface of the water. The crocodiles were hungry too. They stared at the Mouse Deer.
One crocodile said, “Let’s eat the Mouse Deer!”
The Mouse Deer heard them, but he was not afraid. Suddenly, he had an idea.
“Hey, Crocodiles!” Mouse Deer shouted. “The King of the Jungle is going to hold a big feast. His Majesty wants to invite all the crocodiles.”
“A big feast?” asked one crocodile.
“Yes,” Mouse Deer replied. “But the King of the Jungle wants to know how many crocodiles live in this river. All of you must line up so I can count you.”
The crocodiles believed the Mouse Deer. They lined up from one side of the river all the way to the other.
Mouse Deer jumped onto the back of the first crocodile. Then he jumped from one crocodile to the next while saying,
“One, two, line up tight,
Three, four, stay where you are,
Five crocodiles, the count is right,
Thank you, now I’m safe!”
The Mouse Deer then jumped onto the riverbank on the other side.
He turned around and laughed.
“Ha, ha! There isn’t really a feast from the King of the Jungle. I just wanted to cross the river!”
The crocodiles were shocked.
“What?” shouted one crocodile. “The Mouse Deer tricked us!”
“We became his bridge!” another crocodile said angrily.
One crocodile tried to catch the Mouse Deer, but the Mouse Deer was already far away from the river.
The Mouse Deer ran straight to the sapodilla tree. He sat under it and happily ate the sweet fruit.
The crocodiles could only watch from the river.
Once again, the Mouse Deer managed to save himself by using his wits.
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