**NEW TINY TALES: From the Middle East, there's a Tiny Tales of Nasruddin free book online (100-word stories about the Middle Eastern "wise-fool" and jester named Nasruddin). From India, there's a Tiny Tales from India book (100-word fables and folktales of India). Meanwhile, the Tiny Tales of the Sufis book contains stories from Muslim storytellers from both the Middle East and India. All of these "Tiny Tales" options are available as free ebooks/audiobooks for one or two weeks of reading each.
To get a sense of some of the stories that are coming, here's a random image from one of the units (reload to see more). Then, scroll down to learn more about all the options.
Length. Remember: the units are all appx. the same length (15,000 words total, divided into two parts: A and B), but the contents are very different, so it's important to take a few minutes to make your choice. Don't just make your decision based on the title of the unit; browse around, read a few paragraphs, and that way you can be sure you are making a good choice for the week.
Here is a complete list of the units with a brief description for each one:
Ancient Middle East:
Ancient Egypt: Tales of gods and goddesses (Ra, Isis, Hathor, Thoth), plus Egyptian magic.
Folklore of the Holy Land: Muslim stories of Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, and the prophets.
Buddhism and Hinduism:
Life of the Buddha: The story of Prince Siddhartha from his birth to awakening as the Buddha.
Jataka Tales (two units): The Babbitt unit has Buddhist "birth-story" parables with a focus on fables about the Buddha's animal incarnations, and the Shedlock unit focuses on the teachings of Buddhism.
Ramayana: A brief version of the epic Ramayana about Rama's war with the demon Ravana.
Frametale Stories:
Arabian Nights: The famous Scheherazade tells the stories here, including "Aladdin and the Lamp."
Tales of a Parrot: Tales told by a parrot each night to persuade his owner not to go to her lover.
Panchatantra: Wisdom tales told in a nested stories-within-stories style.
Arabian Nights: The famous Scheherazade tells the stories here, including "Aladdin and the Lamp."
Tales of a Parrot: Tales told by a parrot each night to persuade his owner not to go to her lover.
Panchatantra: Wisdom tales told in a nested stories-within-stories style.
Fables of Bidpai: Short wisdom tales derived from the Panchatantra.
Twenty-Two Goblins: Riddle tales told by a goblin to a king who must solve each one to stay alive.
Twenty-Two Goblins: Riddle tales told by a goblin to a king who must solve each one to stay alive.
Hero Tales:
Sindbad: The seven voyages of Sindbad the Sailor, as told in first-person by Sindbad himself.
Raja Rasalu: The adventures of Raja Rasalu (King Rasalu), legendary hero of the Punjab.
Raja Rasalu: The adventures of Raja Rasalu (King Rasalu), legendary hero of the Punjab.
Folktales and Fairy Tales:
Turkish: Tales of fairies, dervishes, wizards and princes, and each story has beautiful illustrations.
Persian: Stories of fairies, dervishes, and demons, plus animal stories — and werewolves!
Persian: Stories of fairies, dervishes, and demons, plus animal stories — and werewolves!
Georgian: Tales of the Georgian people of Central Asia who live at the juncture of East and West.
Indian: A wide-ranging selection of fairy tales plus stories from the Jatakas too.
Indian: A wide-ranging selection of fairy tales plus stories from the Jatakas too.
Bengali: Stories of gods, ghosts, tricksters, plus husbands and wives.
Santal Animal stories from the Santal people, with many tiger tales and stories of tricksters also.
Khasi: Animal legends and creation stories, along with tales of the Khasi gods and goddesses.
Khasi: Animal legends and creation stories, along with tales of the Khasi gods and goddesses.
You can also search for specific features based on your personal reading preferences; the links below go to the Diigo catalog, and you can click on the unit title to see the actual contents and browse the stories, etc.
| Units with explanatory NOTES | Mideast | Indian |
| Free AUDIOBOOK versions | Mideast | Indian |
| Lots of SHORTER stories | Indian | |
| Few stories but LONGER | Mideast | Indian |
| One CONTINUOUS story | Mideast | Indian |
| Stories for CHILDREN | Indian | |
| Stories in VERSE | Indian | |
| Units with ILLUSTRATIONS | Mideast | Indian |