Southeast Asia’s supreme trickster is the tiny mouse-deer, weakest but cleverest of forest creatures

Evidence

Throughout the islands and peninsulas of Southeast Asia — in Indonesia, Malaysia, and beyond — the most beloved trickster of all is the smallest: Sang Kancil, the mouse-deer. The mouse-deer (kancil) is a real animal, a tiny deer-like creature no bigger than a rabbit, with thin legs and big eyes — and in the tales, this smallest and weakest of forest creatures is the cleverest of all, forever outwitting the tiger, the crocodile, the elephant, and every other big and dangerous beast through sheer quick wit. — , A Year of World Stories, 9284

Categorization

• XREF: Echoes the weak-trickster-defeats-strong pattern of Anansi, Br’er Rabbit, and the Hare of Inaba across the curriculum.