Tricksters. Fables and Folktales from an Eastern Forest

Carrying on with this week of trickster mouse-deer stories from southeast Asia, today's book is a wonderful collection of stories from Malaysia: Fables and Folktales from an Eastern Forest by Walter William Skeat.

Yes, that is a little mouse-deer right there on the cover of the book! And you can find out more about the life and work of anthropologist Walter Skeat at Wikipedia.

The illustrations are by F. H. Townsend; just look at the little mouse-deer beaching a shark!

Many but not all of the stories feature the adventures of the mouse-deer, and as always you can use the search feature at the Archive to zoom right in on the mentions of mouse-deer:

For me, these stories are especially exciting because they embody the beautiful blend of storytelling cultures in Malaysia. For example, you can see the mouse-deer taking the place of other tricksters in traditional stories from India (replacing the rabbit, replacing the jackal), and you will also find characters from Islamic folklore here, like King Solomon.

So, read and enjoy... and I'll be back with more stories about mouse-deer tomorrow.

Fables and Folktales from an Eastern Forest

by Walter William Skeat