Sang Kancil and Crocodile

g n a S andKancil

Crocodile

by Jim Carrington illustrated by Juanbjuan Oliver Institute of Education

There was once a clever mouse deer named Sang Kancil, who lived deep in the jungle.

One day, Sang Kancil was walking near the river. He spotted a tree on the far bank, full of ripe water apples.

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‘Mmmm, yummy water apples,’ Sang Kancil said to himself.

But the river was full of hungry crocodiles and Sang Kancil knew it was impossible to cross without being eaten.

3

Sang Kancil thought for a while.

Then he had an idea.

A sly smile appeared on his face.

He hurried back down to the water’s edge.

4

One of the crocodiles swam over to speak to him.

‘Hello, Crocodile,’ said Sang Kancil.

‘I’ve got good news.’

‘What’s the news?’ asked Crocodile.

‘Are you going to be my lunch?’

5

Sang Kancil shook his head.

‘No. It’s even better than that. The king’s having a feast for all the animals in the jungle. He’d like to invite the crocodiles.’

‘A feast?’

‘Yes. He’ll be serving the finest food in the jungle.’

‘Excellent,’ said Crocodile, licking his lips.

6

‘The king has asked me to count all the crocodiles in the river so he knows how many are coming,’ said Sang Kancil.

‘Can you help me?’

‘Of course,’ said Crocodile.

‘I will gather all the crocodiles and line them up for you.’

Sang Kancil grinned.

‘Thank you, Crocodile,’ he said.

7

Crocodile got busy. He gathered all the other crocodiles and lined them up side by side. There were so many of them that they stretched from one side of the river to the other in three rows.

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‘My,’ said Sang Kancil.

‘What a lot of hungry crocodiles!’

‘Hurry up,’ said Crocodile. ‘We are getting very hungry. We want to go to the feast.’

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‘OK then,’ said Sang Kancil. ‘I need you all to lie straight and still so I can count you.’

He jumped onto the back of the first crocodile and started to count.

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‘ONE … TWO … THREE … FOUR …’

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By the time Sang Kancil had counted twenty two crocodiles, he had reached the other side of the river.

He jumped onto the bank.

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‘Wait,’ said Crocodile. ‘Where are you going? You haven’t counted all of us.’

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‘Ha ha!’ laughed Sang Kancil.

‘There is no feast. I tricked you!’

And with that, Sang Kancil ran over to the tree and gobbled up the water apples.

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Orange band

Sang Kancil and Crocodile

Jim Carrington

Using this book

Learning Outcomes

Developing reading comprehension

Children can:

This traditional tale from Indonesia follows the format and structure of other traditional tales, for example, the Brer Rabbit stories of the American South.

• Infer meaning from the text

There is a deal of inference required in interpreting the storyline and characterisation. This text will be useful in developing wider comprehension skills.

Grammar and sentence structure

• read longer phrases and more complex sentences • attend to a greater range of punctuation • search for and use familiar inflectional endings (ed) to read past tense words.

A guided reading lesson

• Dialogue between the characters offers opportunity to explore the way punctuation of speech is used as a guide to reading with fluency and phrasing.

Book Introduction

• There are examples of longer complex sentences containing more than one idea, supported by the use of punctuation.

• Specific words and phrases (such as ‘sly’) support the reader to infer the intention.

This is a simple retelling of a traditional Indonesian tale. Sang Kancil outwits Crocodile with his cunning tricks. Recall other stories the chidren have read where one person or animal has tricked another. Say: This story is about a clever mouse deer called Sang Kancil. He wants to eat the water apples on the other side of the river. But, look – the river is full of hungry crocodiles!

How will he get across? Take some ideas from the group. I wonder what clever plan Sang Kancil will have. Shall we find out?

Curriculum links

Preparation

Maths – The crocodiles line up in rows across the river. Practice multiplication skills: there were 24 crocodiles in 6 rows, how many in each row? How would Sang Kancil count them (practising counting in fours)?

page 4: Look at Sang Kancil in this picture.

He’s smiling. Ask the children to find the word ‘sly’ on this page. Discuss the word meaning and what this word tells us about what Sang Kancil might be thinking.

Citizenship – Read non-fiction books about crocodiles and where they live. Find out more about the mouse deer, which is also known as a chevrotain, from internet websites.

pages 5 and 6: Draw attention to the punctuation delineating speech on this page. Show how it indicates how different characters are talking. Ask one child to read the crocodile’s speech and another to be Sang Kancil. Practise reading as these characters might talk. Remind them that Sang Kancil is being sly. Ask: Why do you think Crocodile was licking his lips?

Word meaning and spelling • The text includes many examples of regular past tense inflectional endings.

These endings are often difficult for English language learners if past tense is inflected differently in the first language.

Give each child a book and read the title to them.

Orientation