diff --git a/crates/compiler/builtins/roc/List.roc b/crates/compiler/builtins/roc/List.roc
index 123c40093f..1626e617af 100644
--- a/crates/compiler/builtins/roc/List.roc
+++ b/crates/compiler/builtins/roc/List.roc
@@ -820,7 +820,11 @@ findIndex = \list, matcher ->
 ## Some languages have a function called **`slice`** which works similarly to this.
 sublist : List elem, { start : Nat, len : Nat } -> List elem
 sublist = \list, config ->
-    sublistLowlevel list config.start config.len
+    if config.len == 0 then
+        []
+    else
+        sublistLowlevel list config.start config.len
+
 
 sublistLowlevel : List elem, Nat, Nat -> List elem