The Unifying Mouse Deer
Author: Arvindo Noviar
The outline of its back follows the glow of sunlight that forms the curve of a low hill in the morning. Its color resembles wet soil after rain, which slowly absorbs the rising heat. Its steps are light, as if measuring the distance between trees that are never evenly spaced. Its eyes wander, its ears perked up, absorbing the sounds of the wind, the rustling of leaves, and the distant murmur of the river.
Its small body possesses a skill in reading the terrain that is rare in other creatures. It moves unhurriedly, as each step is the result of careful calculation, involving the firmness of the ground beneath it, the shifting wind direction, and even the faint vibrations of broken twigs. From the outside, it appears simple, but within it lies precision.
Its steps are not always straight, as it adapts to dense undergrowth, skirts rocks, and then crosses streams. In this way, ingenuity becomes a means of survival, navigating space with steps that always find a gap, like water finding its way between cracks in rocks, flowing without leaving a trace.
It knows when to stick with a large herd and when to retreat into the undergrowth to find its own path. Its keen sense of direction allows it to change course before danger strikes, and its ability to restrain itself keeps it safe even though the wilderness often presents complex paths and unexpected traps.
The mouse deer’s work doesn’t stop with itself. Amidst the chaos of the forest, it binds the herd together, preventing it from scattering. It calms the anxious, gathers the lost, and even reconciles two raging lions. It does all this without needing to be publicly acknowledged for its great service, for for it, maintaining balance is a routine that is as integral to its very breath.
Legends on the forest’s fringes often obscure the story by describing the mouse deer as a slippery creature adept at deception. But the mouse deer pays no attention to this and consistently acts as a spatial interpreter, rhythmic regulator, and balance maintainer, ensuring a safer passage through the forest, even when the dense undergrowth occasionally obscures vision and forces all forest dwellers to rely on their trained instincts.
He is a reminder to the large herd that even the small ones can determine their course. Most of the forest’s inhabitants depend on their ability to read signs, organize their steps, and maintain rhythm. It is through this ingenuity that the mouse deer maintains unity, establishes a shared direction, and maintains a sense of historical life that keeps the forest alive from past to future.
But as life must go on, the forest remains the forest. Within it, there are always packs of mad old lions who reject balance and want to turn the jungle into an arena for endless rampage. When that time comes, the mouse deer, with their skill in reading the terrain, will use the traps nature has provided, until the mad lions bite each other or even bite their own tails. An ancient wisdom of the forest: arbitrariness always finds its reward.
In the end, the entire story of the mouse deer’s steps, the commotion of the thickets, the large herd, and the mad lions boils down to one enduring message: unity is the foundation that keeps a forest a forest, and a nation a nation. Indonesian unity is not just writing under a symbol, but the ground that strengthens every step, binds the small and the big in the same direction, and keeps the balance from collapsing due to momentary fury. It is a bridge between the instincts of a mouse deer and the vast journey of a herd, a link between simple ingenuity and a long line of history. Without unity, the herd is scattered and the forest loses its way; With unity, life remains alive, people remain united, and the future can be achieved with the collective work of all the forest contents.**
Jakarta, 2 October 2025
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