Indonesian Short Stories

A proud rabbit races a slow tortoise and dashes ahead, then naps under a shady tree. The tortoise keeps going steadily without stopping and crosses the finish line while the rabbit sleeps. Slow and steady wins the race.

Robi the robot can do every chore but can’t laugh. Dewi and Raka try jokes, funny faces and tickles with no luck. Then their puppy slips on a banana peel and tumbles into a box, the kids burst out laughing, and Robi laughs for the first time.

Tetes the raindrop falls from a cloud onto a mountain, flows down a stream and a river past rice fields and villages, reaches the sea, and rises again as vapor. A gentle introduction to the water cycle.

Dimas’s red kite soars high and complains that its string holds it back. When the string is cut, the kite tumbles into a tree. Dimas ties a new string, and the kite realizes the string is what helps it fly high.

A hungry dog finds a bone and, crossing a bridge, sees his own reflection holding another bone. Greedy for both, he barks and drops his bone into the river. He goes home hungry, having learned that greed leads to loss.

Rafi finds a fallen star and keeps it in a jar, but its light fades because it misses the sky. He climbs a hill and sets it free, and every night afterward the star twinkles at him before he sleeps.

Kiko the proud rooster loses his voice and worries the farm will never wake up. His friends the cow, the goat and the duck make noise together to wake the farmer. When Kiko’s voice returns, they all crow together every morning.

On a rainy day, Nina shares her rainbow umbrella with a wet kitten, an elderly woman and her friend Andi. Her teacher says the umbrella must be magic, but Nina knows the magic is in sharing.

Ucok, a little orangutan in the Borneo rainforest, carelessly tosses peels and plastic into the river. When he sees a small fish trapped in a plastic wrapper, he rescues it and starts collecting litter. The other animals join in, and the river runs clear again.

Adit wants to give his grandfather a birthday present but has no money. He makes a handmade book of old photos and family memories and learns Grandpa’s favorite song on the flute. His grandfather calls it the best gift of his life.