A small hare, a dangerous crocodile, and a battle of wits this classic Cambodian folktale proves that cleverness can outplay even the strongest jaws.
In Cambodian folklore, animals often behave like humans – speaking, scheming, and teaching lessons through humor and mischief. Among them, the hare stands out as a classic trickster figure: small, vulnerable, yet endlessly clever. This traditional Khmer tale, widely shared across generations, captures the spirit of rural storytelling in Cambodia, where intelligence is often the greatest weapon.
One day, a hare was running along and wanted to cross to the other side of a body of water. It did not know how to get across. Just then, it saw a crocodile swimming back and forth.
The hare thought carefully and then called out, “Brother Crocodile! Why is your skin so rough all over?”
The crocodile replied, “It’s a disease – ringworm.”
The hare said, “If you carry me across to the other side, I will cure it for you.”
Hearing this, the crocodile was delighted. It climbed up onto the bank and said, “I will take you across. Just make sure you cure me.”
The hare, pretending kindness, said, “Do not worry.”
But it was disgusted by the crocodile’s body, so it placed leaves beneath itself before sitting on the crocodile’s head. The crocodile asked why.
The hare replied, “You are helping me – it would be sinful not to show respect.”
The crocodile believed every word and swam across the water. When they reached the other side, the hare jumped off, ran onto the land, and shouted, “Your disease has been with you since your ancestors – who could ever cure it?”
The crocodile was furious. “This hare has tricked me!” it thought. It began to plot revenge.
The crocodile then floated in the water, pretending to be a drifting log. The hare came along, saw it, and became suspicious.
It said aloud, “If that is a crocodile, let it float with the current. If it is a log, let it move against the current.”
The crocodile thought, “If I want to seem like a log, I should go against the current.” So it swam upstream.
The hare laughed and said, “Ah! Crocodile, you cannot trick me!”
The crocodile realized it had been outsmarted again.
Later, the hare came across a dead buffalo near a pond. Vultures had already torn open its belly. The hare went inside to play. But as the day grew hot, the buffalo’s skin tightened, trapping the hare inside.
It struggled but could not escape.
In the evening, people came to fetch water. The hare cried out from inside, “Oh kind villagers! Please pour water on this buffalo as an offering. You will gain great merit!”
The villagers heard the voice and believed it. They poured water over the buffalo, and its skin softened and opened.
The hare quickly escaped and ran off, shouting, “No merit at all – I only tricked you to save myself!”
The hare continued on and soon saw the crocodile floating again. It wondered, “Is that a crocodile or just a log?”
So it called out, “If it is a crocodile, float with the current. If it is a log, go against it.”
The crocodile, thinking carefully this time, still made the wrong choice and revealed itself.
The hare laughed again, “Crocodile, you will never fool me!”
The crocodile, frustrated, thought, “Next time, I will lie still on land and pretend to be dead.”
So it climbed onto the bank, opened its mouth, and lay motionless.
The hare approached, looking closely. “Ah, this crocodile must be dead,” it said. It went nearer and began touching the crocodile’s teeth.
“These big teeth would make excellent knife handles,” it said. “And the small ones could be used by my wife for cutting betel nuts.”
As it was speaking, the crocodile suddenly snapped its jaws shut.
The hare leaped straight into the crocodile’s mouth and ended up inside its belly.
But even then, it did not panic. Instead, it shouted, “Wonderful! I have always wanted to eat crocodile intestines. Now I am inside – I will eat them all!”
It scratched and made loud noises.
The crocodile, terrified, begged, “Brother Hare, please come out! I will never harm you again!”
The hare replied, “If you beg me, I will spare you.”
The crocodile opened its mouth, and the hare jumped out and escaped once more.
This enduring Khmer folktale reflects the values and imagination of Cambodian rural life, where storytelling blends humor, survival, and subtle wisdom. The hare’s cleverness is not just entertainment – it mirrors a deeper cultural appreciation for intelligence, adaptability, and the ability to navigate danger through wit rather than force.
In a land shaped by rivers, forests, and shared traditions, such stories continue to echo across generations, reminding listeners that sometimes, the smallest voice carries the sharpest mind.
This is an adaptation of one of the numerous tales of the hare published by the Buddhist Institute in Phnom. The source in Khmer is available here.
