The Story of the Kancil (Mouse Deer) Saving the Cow from the Crocodile

One sunny day, Cow was walking through the forest looking for food. Suddenly, she heard a weak voice calling for help, "Oh, help! Help me, anyone out there!"

Cow stopped and perked up her ears, trying to locate the source of the voice. "Who’s speaking? Where are you?" Cow shouted, turning her head in all directions.

"I'm here, behind these big rocks!" the voice replied weakly. Finally, Cow spotted a Crocodile trapped under a pile of large rocks. His body was bloodied, and he looked exhausted. "I've been stuck here since morning. I was just walking by when suddenly these rocks fell on me," Crocodile continued in a feeble voice.

Cow hesitated to approach. What if Crocodile was lying? But seeing his dire condition, Cow felt pity. "Alright, I'll help you," Cow said as she started lifting the rocks off Crocodile's body.

After some hard work, Cow finally freed Crocodile from the pile of rocks. Crocodile sighed with relief and said, "Thank you, Cow. Without you, I might have died trapped under those rocks."

"You're welcome, Crocodile. I just did what anyone should do," Cow replied humbly, ready to continue on her way.

But Crocodile quickly said, "Wait, don't leave yet, Cow! Look, my leg is badly injured, and I can't walk. Could you carry me to the river? I need to soak to heal my wounds." Crocodile looked at Cow with a hopeful expression.

Cow felt a bit reluctant but couldn't bear to leave Crocodile in such pain. "Alright, climb onto my back," Cow said patiently.

Crocodile climbed onto Cow's back, and they walked together toward the nearest river. When they arrived, Cow said, "Here we are. Now you can get down and soak in the river."

However, instead of getting down, Crocodile flashed a sly grin. "You know, Cow, I'm really hungry after what happened earlier. And your meat looks quite delicious. I think I'd like to have a taste." Crocodile opened his mouth wide, ready to bite Cow.

Cow was terrified and started to cry. "Please, Crocodile, don't do this! I saved you from danger. Why are you repaying kindness with evil?" Cow pleaded.

At that moment, a clever Kancil (Mouse Deer) appeared from behind the bushes and saw what was happening. "Hey, Cow! Why are you crying? And why is Crocodile on your back?" Kancil asked in surprise.

Cow explained everything to Kancil, telling how she had saved Crocodile from being trapped and now Crocodile wanted to eat her. Kancil thought for a moment and said, "Hmm, it's true that we should help other living creatures. But I'm not sure this Crocodile was really trapped under those rocks. Why don't we test it?"

Feeling insulted, Crocodile immediately responded, "What do you mean, Kancil? Of course, I was really trapped!"

Kancil smiled slyly, "Alright then, why don't we go back to the rocks? Show me how you got trapped."

Without thinking, Crocodile agreed. They returned to the spot where the rocks were still scattered. Confidently, Crocodile pointed to his previous location, "Here, I was trapped right here!" Crocodile lay down and reenacted his earlier position.

Kancil nodded thoughtfully. "Oh, I see. Now, Cow, please put the rocks back on Crocodile, just like you saw earlier." Cow did as instructed, piling the rocks back on top of Crocodile.

Once Crocodile was trapped under the rocks again, Kancil chuckled, "Now I believe you. You really were trapped, Crocodile!"

Crocodile began to panic, realizing the trap. "Hey! What are you doing? You’re not going to leave me here, are you?" Crocodile struggled under the pile of rocks.

"Sorry, Crocodile," Kancil replied with a smile, "But you need to learn to appreciate the kindness of others. Goodbye!"

Kancil and Cow walked away, leaving Crocodile trapped once again, this time with no intention of helping him. They walked back with a sense of relief, and Cow felt grateful to have met the clever Kancil.

From that day on, Cow learned to be more cautious and not to be easily fooled by insincere pleas for help. As for Crocodile, he realized that greed would only bring him trouble.