Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook: Myth-Folklore Unit: Indian Fairy Tales

Overview. This wide-ranging collection of Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs includes stories from the Buddhist Jataka and Hindu Panchatantra tradition (The Lion and the Crane, The Demon with the Matted Hair, The Cruel Crane Outwitted, The Broken Pot, and more), along with some marvelous fairy tales that contain motifs you will recognize from the European fairy tale tradition, even though the actual stories will probably be new to you. One of my favorites is The Charmed Ring, which features a dog and cat working in partnership as the hero's animal helpers. This unit also contains what I consider to be one of the greatest folktales of all time - The Tiger, The Brahman, and the Jackal - with the jackal as trickster and the tiger as the victim of the trick!

Language. Jacobs draws on various sources for these stories, but they are all modern English sources, so the language used should not be a problem.

Story Length. This unit contains single-page stories, with just one two-page story.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Indian Fairy Tales. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.