Sang Kancil was walking through the forest. He was looking for tasty fruits and roots and shoots. Though he was small, he was not afraid. He knew that many big animals wanted to eat him. But first they had to catch him!
Then he heard something. Rowr! It was a tiger! “Hello, Sang Kancil. I was just getting hungry. Now you can be my lunch.” Sang Kancil didn’t want to be his lunch. He looked around and thought fast. He saw a mud puddle.
“I’m sorry. I can’t be your lunch. The King has ordered me to guard his pudding.”
“His pudding?” said the tiger.
“Yes. There it is.” Sang Kancil pointed to the mud puddle. “It has the best taste in the world. The King doesn’t want anyone else to eat it.”
The tiger looked longingly at the puddle. “I would like to taste the King’s pudding.”
“Oh no, Tiger! The King would be very angry.”
“Just one little taste, Sang Kancil! The King will never know.”
“Well, all right, Tiger. But first let me run far away, so no one will blame me.”
“All right, Sang Kancil, you can go now.” Sang Kancil quickly ran out of sight. “Imagine!” said the tiger. “The King’s pudding!” He took a big mouthful. Phooey! He spit it out. “Yuck! Ugh! Bleck! That’s not a pudding. That’s mud!”
The tiger ran through the forest. Rowr! Finally, he caught up with Sang Kancil.
“Sang Kancil, you tricked me once. But now you will be my lunch!”
Sang Kancil looked around and thought fast. He saw a wasp nest in a tree. “I’m sorry. I can’t be your lunch. The King has ordered me to guard his drum.”
“His drum?” said the tiger.
“Yes. There it is.” Sang Kancil pointed to the wasp nest. “It has the best sound in the world. The King doesn’t want anyone else to hit it.”
The tiger said, “I would like to hit the King’s drum.”
“Oh no, Tiger! The King would be very angry.”
“Just one little hit, Sang Kancil! The King will never know.”
“Well, all right, Tiger. But first let me run far away, so no one will blame me.”
“Fine, Sang Kancil, go now.” Again, Sang Kancil quickly dash out of sight. “Imagine!” said the tiger. “The King’s drum!” He reached up and hit it. Bzzzzzzzzzzz. The wasps all flew out. They started to sting the tiger. “Ouch! Ooch! That’s not a drum. That’s a wasp nest!” The tiger ran away. But the wasps only followed him! Bzzzzz. “Ouch! Ouch!” The tiger came to a stream. He jumped in—splash! —and stayed underwater as long as he could.
At last, the wasps went away. Then the tiger jumped out. Rowr! He ran through the forest till he finally found Sang Kancil.
“Sang Kancil, you tricked me once. You tricked me twice. But now you will be my lunch!”
Sang Kancil looked around and thought fast. He saw a python! The giant snake was coiled asleep on the ground. “I’m sorry. I can’t be your lunch. The King has ordered me to guard his belt.”
“His belt?” said the tiger.
“Yes. There it is.” Sang Kancil pointed to the python. “It’s the best belt in the world. The King doesn’t want anyone else to wear it.”
The tiger said, “I would like to wear the King’s belt.”
“Oh no Tiger! The King would be very angry.”
“Just for one moment, Sang Kancil! The King will never know.”
“Well, all right, Tiger. But first let me run far away, so no one will blame me.”
“Definitely, Sang Kancil, go off now.” Sang Kancil ran quickly out of sight. “Imagine!” said the tiger. “The King’s belt!” He started to wrap it around himself. The python woke up. Sssss. It didn’t wait for the tiger to finish wrapping. It wrapped itself around the tiger. Then it squeezed him and bit him. Sstt! “Ooh! Ow! Yow! That’s not a belt. That’s a python! Help! Sang Kancil! Help!”
But Sang Kancil was already far away.
Question to Ponder:
If you are the tiger in the story, what would you do differently? (You can write your answer in the comment section.)
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