Highly Commended Story - The Clever Deer

“The Clever Deer” by Hor Nicgel, Sri KDU Primary School, Malaysia, is the Highly Commended story in the sub-junior category of the second biannual Short Story Contest 2018.

Hor Nicgel is a 7 year old boy studying in Sri KDU Primary School, Malaysia. He likes to read during his free time and swim every weekend. His ambition is to become a doctor who always has a smiling face. He was inspired to write this short story as he believes that “Wisdom is stronger than physical strength”.

The Clever Deer

A very long time ago, there lived a clever deer in the jungle. One day, the deer was grazing near the river and he saw a tiger hiding behind the bushes. The deer was so scared to see the tiger’s sharp claws and big teeth, but he quickly thought of a bright idea. The clever deer said loudly, “Last week I ate ten lions, five elephants, but I did not eat any tiger. I think the tiger must be very delicious. I hope I can find a tiger and eat it.”

The tiger behind the bushes heard the clever deer’s words and quickly ran away. The tiger ran very fast as he was worried the clever deer will catch him for food. A fox saw this and stopped the tiger. The tiger was so frightened and said, “Run, let’s run away together. There is a powerful deer near the river. He has killed a lot of animals including lions and elephants. Now, he wants to kill me too!” The fox felt so funny and laughed non-stop. “No, how can a deer eat a tiger? The deer is just telling a lie. Let me show you that this is just a trick and we can eat the deer together.”

The clever deer saw the tiger was coming back with the fox. He was so scared but he braved himself and shouted loudly, “Hey my dear fox, thank you so much for bringing a tiger for me. I am so hungry now and I need some food for my lunch. Let’s enjoy our lunch together for today.” The tiger was very angry. He ate the fox on the spot and again he ran quickly to escape from the clever deer. However, the clever deer has set up a trap this time and the tiger fell into the trap finally. The deer has saved his own life.

Moral: “Wisdom is stronger than physical strength.”