A long time ago, deep within a lush and vibrant rainforest, there lived a small but clever animal known as Kancil, the mouse-deer. Though he was tiny and had no sharp claws or strong muscles, all the animals in the jungle knew that Kancil had something even more powerful—his clever mind.
One scorching afternoon, Kancil wandered through the jungle in search of something to eat and drink. His throat was dry, and his little hooves ached from the heat of the forest floor. After walking for a long while, he came to the edge of a wide, deep river.
Kancil’s eyes sparkled with joy. “Ah, water!” he said, rushing toward the riverbank. But just as he bent down to drink, he froze. Something wasn’t right.
He peered into the water. The river, although calm on the surface, held many dangers beneath. This was the territory of the crocodiles, fierce hunters with sharp teeth and hungry stomachs.
“I must be careful,” Kancil whispered to himself. “If I step into this river, I might become lunch.”
But Kancil wasn’t one to give up easily. He sat beneath a shady tree, thinking hard. Then, a cunning idea popped into his head, and he smiled to himself.
He walked up to the river’s edge and called out, “Crocodiles! Oh mighty and noble crocodiles! I bring you news from the King of the Jungle!”
From the water, several crocodile heads slowly emerged. They looked at the tiny mouse-deer curiously.
“What does the King want with us?” one of the crocodiles hissed.
Kancil bowed respectfully. “The King of the Jungle has heard that crocodiles are the most powerful creatures in the river. He wants to invite all of you to a grand feast! But first, he must know how many crocodiles live in this river so he can prepare enough food for everyone.”
The crocodiles’ eyes widened with excitement. “A feast? For us?”
“Yes,” Kancil replied. “But I must count you all. Please line up across the river from one side to the other so I can step on your backs and count you properly.”
The crocodiles, proud and eager for a feast, quickly agreed. One by one, they lined up across the river, their backs forming a scaly bridge from one bank to the other.
Kancil grinned. “Perfect,” he whispered.
He hopped onto the first crocodile’s back and said, “One.” Then he stepped onto the next. “Two.” And the next. “Three.”
He continued like this, carefully balancing on their backs and counting loudly as he went: “Four… five… six…”
By the time he reached the last crocodile near the other side of the river, he shouted, “Twenty! Thank you, dear crocodiles! You’ve been very helpful!”
Then with a quick jump, Kancil landed safely on the far riverbank. He turned and laughed.
“There is no feast, and there is no message from the King!” he shouted. “I only needed to cross the river, and you all helped me do it!”
The crocodiles roared in anger, their tails thrashing in the water. “You tricked us!”
But Kancil was already running through the trees, laughing as he disappeared into the jungle.
From that day on, the crocodiles swore they would never trust Kancil again. But no matter how many times they tried to catch him, they never could. For Kancil may have been small, but he was the cleverest creature in the entire forest.
Moral of the story: Intelligence and quick thinking can help you escape even the most dangerous situations.