This term, students in F-2 have been learning about Indonesian animals through stories, songs and folk tales. One of the most famous animal characters in Indonesian children’s folk tales is Kancil the mouse-deer. This small animal is timid but cunning and there are dozens of stories about Kancil out-witting other animals far bigger and stronger including monyet the monkey, buaya the crococile and harimau the tiger. Students have heard some of these stories in Indonesian and English and have made puppets and masks to re-tell the story in their own words. These folk tales are often told as shadow puppet shows in Indonesia. Today you will also find lots of these stories on YouTube, the App store and maybe even the library!

Here is one example, the story of the mouse-deer and the tiger: