The Mouse Deer wanted to eat fruits across the river but couldn't cross due to crocodiles. He tricked the crocodiles into lining up by claiming the king wanted a headcount, allowing him to safely jump across each crocodile's back to reach the other side. There were ten crocodiles in total, who grew angry at being outwitted from eating the Mouse Deer.

1. THE MOUSEDEER AND THE CROCODILE
Once upon a time, there lived a Mouse Deer in the jungle. One day, the
Mouse Deer saw fruits on the other side of the river. Mouse Deer wanted to cross
the river. He wanted to eat the tasty fruits but there are many crocodiles in the
river.
Mouse Deer didn’t want Crocodile to eat him first! Then, Mouse Deer had an
idea. He called out, “Hey Crocodile!”, “The King wants to know the number of
crocodiles in this river.”, “You must line up from this side of the river to the other
side.”
So, all the crocodiles line up in a row for the Mouse Deer to count them. The
Mouse Deer jumps from one crocodile to another and counts the number loudly,
“One, two, three” until the last crocodile, “Ten”. Finally, the Mouse Deer reaches
the other side of the river safely. The crocodile felts very angry because they
cannot eat the Mouse Deer.
QUESTIONS
1. Why the Mouse Deer wanted to cross the river?
• To eat the fruits.
2. How did the Mouse Deer cross the river?
• By jumping from the crocodile’s back to another.
3. How many crocodiles are there in the river?
• Ten.
4. Why did the crocodile get angry?
• They cannot eat the Mouse Deer.