Hantu (Soft g)
Adapted from "It's a Ghost!" by Chandan Yadav and Kaustubh Kamat. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
In Indonesia, a spirit of the dead is called hantu. They can be malicious like a demon. This hantu has a ferocious appearance that makes him perfect for the task of spreading terror.
The hantu is determined to spread mischief. He chases a dog, frightens a man as he goes about his work and scares the wits out of a little boy.
He is more ferocious than a lion.
He even tugs the tail of a large, wild elephant as it attempts to escape.
He frightens the muscular body builder.
And even terrorizes the guard with his gun.
Not a day goes by when this malicious little spirit doesn't frighten and chase the people and the animals of the village.
If the end of the day has come and he has not managed to bring terror to the village, he is not happy.
He trudges off to find someone, anyone to scare before the day is over.
He comes across the house of a little mouse. 'A mouse should be easy to scare', he thinks.
The mouse is asleep in his bed, unaware of the devious spirit stalking him in the night.
The hantu begins with an ominous patter of his feet.
The mouse wakes, shaking and quaking in terror. Something large has just padded it's way into his house.
Then the malicious spirit leaps out. 'I'm a hantu! I bring you terror!,' he shouts.
'Oh! It's just a hantu, a spirit of the dead,' says the mouse in relief. 'I thought you were a cat.'
The hantu slinks away, embarrassed. Maybe he isn't so ferocious after all.