Kancil and the Crocodiles

Kancil the mouse deer is the great trickster of Malay folklore, small and quick-witted in a world of bigger, hungrier animals. Here he and a tortoise need to cross a river full of crocodiles, and they talk their way over by persuading the crocodiles themselves to help. It is a clever plan, with one flaw: nobody has thought about the journey home.

A lively Malaysian folktale retold as a picture book, for children who like to see the little ones outwit the big ones, and for grown-ups who enjoy a trick that comes back round.