Kawan Bergeloet (Perfected Spelling: Kawan Bergelut; Indonesian for "Playmate") is a collection of short stories written by Soeman Hs and first published by Balai Pustaka in 1941. It contains twelve stories, seven of which were previously published in the magazine Pandji Poestaka, as well as an introduction by Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana. These stories are generally humorous in nature, and presented with a diction that shows strong east Sumatran influences.

Released in response to the commercial success of Muhammad Kasim's collection Teman Doedoek, Kawan Bergeloet has been reprinted several times and received positive critical appraisal. Soeman, together with Kasim, has since been considered a pioneer of the Indonesian short story. The Dutch scholar of Indonesian literature A. Teeuw writes that the collection is Soeman's most interesting contribution to Indonesian literature.

Short stories and sketches in Malay have been recorded in Indonesia since the 1870s, and a short story collection—H. Kommer's Warna Sari—was published in 1912. These early stories used vernacular Malay and were often humorous or derived from fairy tales or detective fiction. Short story-writing developed further in the 1920s and 1930s, when short stories and sketches in a more formal register of Malay were widely published in such magazines as Pandji Poestaka and Poedjangga Baroe. The first collection of short stories in the Indonesian literary canon, Muhammad Kasim's Teman Doedoek, was published by Balai Pustaka in 1937. This collection was a commercial success, selling 4,000 copies by 1941.

Teman Doedoek was read by Soeman Hs, a Bengkalis-born teacher who had already gained popularity as a writer of detective fiction. Soeman, once a student of Kasim's, had also experimented with more humorous story-telling approaches, including in his novel Pertjobaan Setia as well as in the numerous short stories he had published through Pandji Pustaka. After the commercial success of Teman Doedoek, Balai Pustaka sought to release a new short story collection; thus, Soeman was contacted.

Kawan Bergeloet contains twelve short stories or sketches written by Soeman, seven of which had initially been written for and published in Pandji Poestaka. The remaining stories were written especially for the new collection. The first edition included an article on Soeman, written by Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana, which had previously been published in the January 1936 issue of Pedoman Pembatja. This has been excluded from some later reissues.

"Tjik Mat" (Perfected Spelling: "Cik Mat") follows a young man named Mat who goes fishing by the riverside. After three casts he is unable to catch any fish. On the fourth cast, he hooks a fish, but it falls into the waters. The story was first published in 1933, in issue 13, volume 11, of Pandji Poestaka.

"Piloe" (Perfected Spelling: "Pilu", meaning "Melancholia"), follows a mother who goes to the port with her child, Mak Jam, to meet her husband Hajji Saleh. Upon arriving, Jam is unable to find him. A crewman later tells the mother that Saleh died three days before reaching Sabang. The story was first published in 1933, in issue 40, volume 11, of Pandji Poestaka.

"Salah Paham" (meaning "Misunderstanding") follows Kari Boengsoe, a gambir merchant, who travels to Singapore after turning a tidy profit. When his escort leaves, Kari goes to a nearby restaurant for dinner. The waiter asks him, "Kari apa?", to which Kari replies that he wants to eat. This exchange is repeated several times until the waiter asks "Kari ajam? Kari kambing?" Kari and the waiter begin fighting, and the police are called. When they arrive, they realize the source of the confusion, explain it, and leave. Shortly afterwards, the incident is repeated when Kari and the waiter have a misunderstanding over an ice cube. According to Balai Pustaka, "Salah Paham" was previously published. However, Ernst Kratz, in his bibliography of literature published in Indonesian magazines, does not note any publication.