Stories from Near and Far

The Mouse-deer and the Tiger

DESCRIPTION

The Mouse-deer and the tiger is a delightful trickster tale from Southeast Asia, where  the Mouse-deer gets the best of one of his most ferocious enemy, the tiger.

Colour the Mouse-deer and the tiger

Transcript

I am quick and smart as I can be.

Try and try, but you can’t catch me.

Children, can you guess who that is?

It was the mouse-deer. A mouse-deer is neither a mouse nor a deer and mostly found in South and Southeast Asia.

I am quick and smart as I can be.

Try and try, but you can’t catch me.

Mouse-deer sang his song as he walked through the forest. He was looking for tasty fruits and roots and shoots.

Though he was small, he was not afraid.

Children, what are you afraid of?

So the mouse-deer was fearless. He knew that many big animals wanted to eat him. But first, they had to catch him!

Then he heard something. Rowr!

There was Tiger!

“Hello, Mouse-deer. I was just getting hungry. Now you can be my lunch.”

Certainly, the Mouse-deer didn’t want to be the lunch. He looked around and thought fast. He saw a mud puddle.

Children, can you guess what he will do?

Listen ahead.

“I’m sorry, Tiger. I can’t be your lunch. The King has ordered me to guard his pudding.”

“His pudding?” said Tiger.

“Yes. There it is.” Mouse-deer pointed to the mud puddle. “It has the best taste in the world.”

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, Mouse-deer! The King will never know.”

“Well, all right, Tiger. But first let me run far away, so no one will blame me.”

“All right, Mouse-deer, you can go now.”

Mouse-deer ran quickly out of sight, tricking the tiger. A real trickster indeed.

“Imagine!” said Tiger. “The King’s pudding!” He took a big mouthful.

Phooey! He spit it out.

“Yuck! Ugh! Bleck! That’s no pudding. That’s mud!”

Tiger ran through the forest. Rowr! He caught up with Mouse-deer.

“Mouse-deer, you tricked me once. But now you will be my lunch!”

Mouse-deer looked around and thought fast. He saw a wasp nest in a tree.

Children, can you think of a way that the trickster Mouse-deer would use the wasp nest to trick the tiger?

“I’m sorry, Tiger. I can’t be your lunch. The King has ordered me to guard his drum.”

“His drum?” said Tiger.

“Yes. There it is.” Mouse-deer pointed to the wasp nest. “It has the best sound in the world. The King doesn’t want anyone else to hit it.”

Tiger got tempted, “I would like to hit the King’s drum.”

“Oh, no, Tiger! The King would be very angry.”

“Just one little hit, Mouse-deer! The King will never know.”

“Well, all right, Tiger. But first, let me run far away, so no one will blame me.”

“All right, Mouse-deer, you can go now.”

Mouse-deer ran quickly out of sight.

“Imagine!” said Tiger. “The King’s drum!” He reached up and hit it. Pow.

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzz. The wasps all flew out. They started to sting Tiger.

“Ouch! Ooch! Eech! That’s no drum. That’s a wasp nest!”

Tiger ran away. But the wasps only followed him! Bzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

“Ouch! Ooch!”

Tiger came to a stream. He jumped in—splish-splash!—and stayed underwater as long as he could. At last, the wasps went away.

Then Tiger jumped out. Rowr! He ran through the forest till he found Mouse-deer.

“Mouse-deer, you tricked me once. You tricked me twice. But now you will be my lunch!”

Mouse-deer looked around and thought fast. He saw a cobra!

Children, do you think the Mouse-deer will be able to think of something with the cobra to save himself? Can you please give Mouse-deer some ideas?

The giant snake was coiled asleep on the ground.

“I’m sorry, Tiger. I can’t be your lunch. The King has ordered me to guard his belt.”

“His belt?” said Tiger.

“Yes. There it is.” Mouse-deer pointed to the cobra. “It’s the best belt in the world. The King doesn’t want anyone else to wear it.”

Tiger got tempted yet again, “I would like to wear the King’s belt.”

“Oh, no Tiger! The King would be very angry.”

“Just for one moment, Mouse-deer! The King will never know.”

“Well, all right, Tiger. But first, let me run far away, so no one will blame me.”

“All right, Mouse-deer, you can go now.”

Mouse-deer ran quickly out of sight.

“Imagine!” said Tiger. “The King’s belt!” He started to wrap it around himself.

The cobra woke up. Ssssssssssssss. It didn’t wait for Tiger to finish wrapping. It wrapped itself around Tiger. Then it squeezed him and bit him.

“Ooh! Ow! Yow! That’s no belt. That’s a cobra! Help! Mouse-deer! Help!”

But Mouse-deer was far away. And as he went, he sang his song.

I am quick and smart as I can be.

Try and try, but you can’t catch me.