The forest comes alive in this Mah Meri book of folk tales

A close-up view of the 'Mah Meri Animal Folklore' book cover, a bilingual (English and Bahasa Malaysia) compilation of stories from the Mah Meri indigenous community in Malaysia. Photo: Gerimis Art Project

Once upon a time, a mudfish begged a squirrel to get him a liver from a crocodile. He had a relative who was sick and could only be cured with a crocodile’s liver.

The squirrel hid in a coconut which an unsuspecting crocodile gobbled up because it looked delicious. Once in the crocodile’s tummy, the squirrel burst forth from the coconut and started digging around for the crocodile’s liver while the scaled beast writhed in excruciating pain. After a lot of scrambling, the squirrel finally emerged from the lifeless beast, triumphantly holding the liver which he handed over to a grateful mudfish.