Kancil adalah binatang paling cerdik di hutan rimba. Pada suatu hari dia bertemu dengan ular sanca yang mengerikan, bertubuh panjang, juga besar! (Mouse deer is the most cunning animal in the jungle. One day he meets a big scary long python!)
“Hei kancil, aku jago melilit dengan tubuhku. Aku bahkan sudah mengalahkan singa si raja hutan!” seru ular sanca. (“Hey mouse deer, I’m good in entangling my body. I can even defeat the lion, king of the jungle!” exclaims the python.)
“Dan apa yang akan kau lakukan sekarang, ular sanca?” tanya kancil. “Aku akan melilitmu juga! Ayo bertanding! Siapa yang lebih kuat di antara kita!” tantang ular sanca. (“And what do you want to do now, python?” asks the mouse deer. “I’ll tangle you! Let’s compete! Find out who’s the more powerful between us!” challenges the python.)
Kancil pucat pasi. Tapi dia tetap tenang dan memikirkan cara untuk menghindar dari si ular sanca. “Baiklah. Mari kita cari sungai. Kau tentu tidak mau kehausan selama bertanding,” kata kancil.
“Benar juga,” sahut ular sanca. (The mouse deer looks pale. But he remains calm and thinks of ways to avoid the phyton. “Okay. Let’s find a river. You certainly don’t want to get thirst during the competition,” says the mouse deer. “That’s true,” says the python.)
Kancil dan ular sanca tiba di tepi sungai. Kancil melihat ada banyak kuda nil yang sedang berendam di sungai. (The mouse deer and python arrive at the riverbank. The mouse deer sees many hippos bathing in the river.)
Duk! sebuah ranting tiba-tiba patah dari pohon, jatuh di dekat kancil. Ular sanca yang terkejut langsung menyerang kancil! Hup! Untung saja kancil yang bertubuh kecil dapat berkelit dengan cepat! (Crack! A tree twig suddenly broke and fell near the mouse deer. The surprised python instantly attacks the mouse deer! Splatt! Luckily, the small mouse deer can move sprightfully!)
“Hei ular! Kau membuatku terkejut! Itu tadi cuma ranting patah!” seru kancil marah. “Ini sudah jadi bawaanku sejak lahir, kancil!” jawab ular menyesal. (“Hey snake! You surprised me! That was just a twig!” exclaims the mouse deer angrily. “That has always been my habit, mouse deer!” answers the snake sorry.)
“Sebagai permintaan maaf, kau harus mengijinkan aku melakukan serangan terlebih dahulu,” kata kancil. “Baik,” ular sanca setuju. (“As an apology, you must allow me to attack first,” says the mouse deer. “Fine,” says the python agreeing.)
“Lihat baik-baik, ini disebut ‘langkah seribu’!” seru kancil. Kancil yang cerdik melompati para kuda nil yang sedang berendam, dan sampailah dia di sisi seberang sungai. Lalu dia berlari masuk hutan meninggalkan ular sanca. (“Look carefully, this is called ‘a thousand steps’!” exclaims the mouse deer. The clever mouse deer jumps over the hippos and arrives on the opposite side of the river. Then he runs into the woods leaving the python.)
Para kuda nil menertawakan ular sanca. “Hei ular, tak tahukah kau bahwa langkah seribu berarti berlari kencang? Kancil yang cerdik sudah mengalahkanmu dengan akalnya!” seru salah satu dari mereka. (The hippos laugh at the python. “Hey snake, don’t you know ‘a thousand steps’ means to run fast? The clever mouse deer has already beaten you with his mind!” exclaims one of them.)
Ular sanca hanya bisa terdiam dan malu! (The python goes silent and embarrassed!)
Cerita: Seruni Ilustrasi: JFK
