Myth-Folklore Unit: Jataka Tales (Babbitt)

Overview. The jatakas are ancient stories from India, the "birth tales" of the Buddha, stories of his previous incarnations in the form of people and also animals. The Buddha told these stories as teaching parables, much like the way in which Jesus used parables for teaching. Meanwhile, the plots of the jataka stories are often very similar to Aesop's fables, and some of the Aesop's fables from Greece are probably Indian in origin; for example, the story of "The Woodpecker and the Lion" that you will read here is very similar to the Aesopic fable of "The Wolf and the Crane." This particular selection of jataka stories by Ellen Babbit (from her two books, Jataka Tales and More Jataka Tales) emphasizes animal stories, featuring all kinds of creatures: monkeys, elephants, turtles, lions, and even some foolish otters who put their trust in a wolf.

Language. These tales come from a book written for a young audience; the language should not pose any problems.

Story Length. This unit contains only single-page stories.

Choosing Between Units. If you are choosing between the two Jataka Tales unit, Babbitt or Shedlock, here's something to keep in mind: the Babbitt unit presents the stories without the Buddhist framework, in a way that is very similar to Aesop's fables, while the Shedlock unit presents the stories in a more explicitly Buddhist context. So if you are specifically interested in Buddhism, choose the Shedlock unit!

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: Jataka Tales (Babbitt). Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

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Free audiobooks available:

Jatakas - More Jatakas

READING A:

1. The Monkey and the Crocodile
2. How the Turtle Saved His Own Life
3. The Turtle Who Couldn't Stop Talking
4. The Ox Who Won the Forfeit
5. The Quarrel of the Quails
6. The Foolish, Timid Rabbit
7. The Banyan Deer
8. The Princes and the Water-Sprite
9. The King's White Elephant
10. The Ox Who Envied the Pig
11. The Crab and the Crane
12. The Girl Monkey and the String of Pearls
13. The Three Fishes
14. The Tricky Wolf and the Rats

READING B:

1. The Golden Goose
2. The Stupid Monkeys
3. The Cunning Wolf
4. The Woodpecker and the Lion
5. The Otters and the Wolf
6. How The Monkey Saved His Troop
7. The Hawks and Their Friends
8. The Foolhardy Wolf
9. The Stolen Plow
10. The Lion In Bad Company
11. The Wise Goat and the Wolf
12. Beauty and Brownie
13. The Elephant and the Dog

Myth-Folklore Unit: Jataka Tales (Shedlock)

Overview. This selection of jataka tales, or "birth stories" of the Buddha, is taken from Shedlock's Eastern Stories and Legends, with a focus on distinctively Buddhist teachings. The stories from will take you to the holy city of Benares (Varanasi) on the Ganges River in India, and also to ancient Takasila (Taxila), a city in the Punjab (modern-day Pakistan) that was once the site of a great Buddhist monastery. You will learn how the Buddha was re-born as a hare whose self-sacrifice is the origin of the "hare in the moon" (i.e. what we call the "man in the moon"), and you will also read the famous Buddhist legend of Kisagotami, a woman overwhelmed by grief at the death of her only child, along with many other stories of humans and animals in search of wisdom who are guided by the example of the Buddha in his many different incarnations.

Language. This is a modern English retelling of the jatakas, not a direct translation of the Pali text, so the language should not pose any difficulties.

Story Length. This unit contains only single-page stories.

Choosing Between Units. If you are choosing between the two Jataka Tales unit, Babbitt or Shedlock, here's something to keep in mind: the Babbitt unit presents the stories without the Buddhist framework, in a way that is very similar to Aesop's fables, while the Shedlock unit presents the stories in a more explicitly Buddhist context. So if you are specifically interested in Buddhism, choose the Shedlock unit!

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: Jataka Tales (Shedlock). Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

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READING A:

1. The Spirit that Lived in a Tree
2. The Hare that Was not Afraid to Die
3. The Parrot that Fed His Parents
4. The Man Who Worked to Give Alms
5. The King Who Saw the Truth
6. The Bull that Proved His Gratitude
7. The Horse that Held Out till the End
8. The Monkey that Saved the Herd
9. The Merchant Who Overcame All Obstacles
10. The Elephant that Was Honored in Old Age
11. Grandmother's Golden Dish

READING B:

1. The Elephant that Spared Life
2. How the Antelope Was Caught
3. The Pupil Who Taught His Teacher
4. The Man Who Told a Lie
5. The Crow that Thought It Knew
6. The River Fish and the Monkey
7. The Dreamer in the Wood
8. The Rice Measure
9. The Poisonous Trees
10. The Well-Trained Elephant
11. The Wise Physician

Myth-Folklore Unit: The Life of Buddha

Overview. This reading unit contains "Part One" of The Life of Buddha by Andre Ferdinand Herold, beginning with the supernatural birth of Prince Siddhartha, son of King Suddhodana and Queen Maya. There then follows an account of his life as a fortunate and contented young man enjoying all the pleasures that life has to offer. Next come the famous "three encounters" that make Prince Siddhartha suddenly aware of suffering in the world. Unable to bear this awareness, Siddhartha retreats into the wilderness, seeking wisdom as a hermit until the moment that he finally achieves enlightenment under the "Tree of Knowledge," or Bodhi Tree. That is where the reading selection stops, but Parts Two and Three of the book are also available online if you want to learn more about the Buddha's later life and teachings, the monastic community that he founded, and his final departure from this world into nirvana.

Language. This book is a contemporary English translation of the French original; the language should not pose any difficulties.

Story Length. This unit contains a single overarching story that has been broken up into individual episodes.

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: The Life of Buddha. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

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READING A:

1. Maya's Dream
2. Birth of Siddhartha
3. Asita's Prediction
4. Siddhartha at the Temple
5. Siddhartha's First Meditation
6. First Encounter
7. Two More Encounters
8. The Fair Maidens and Gopa's Dream
9. The Great Truths

READING B:

1. Siddhartha Leaves
2. Siddhartha the Hermit
3. Gopa and Suddhodana Grieve
4. Arata Kalama
5. Siddhartha and King Vimbasara
6. Siddhartha Deserted by His First Disciples
7. The Tree of Knowledge
8. Mara's Defeat
9. Siddhartha Becomes the Buddha

(Buddha and Mara's demons, c. 1000 C.E.)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Ramayana

Overview. This is a brief retelling of the Ramayana (as found in Mackenzie's Indian Myth and Legend), an epic poem from ancient India about the adventures of the great Prince Rama, an avatar (incarnation) of the god Vishnu, preserver of the universe. The story begins with the birth of Rama to King Dasaratha, followed by his early training with the guru Vishvamitra. Rama then marries Princess Sita, who is herself an avatar of the goddess Lakshmi, Vishnu's heavenly consort. When the evil demon king Ravana kidnaps Sita, Rama, assisted by his most devoted followers, the monkey-god Hanuman and his own brother Lakshmana, raises an army of monkeys and bears to go and rescue her. Rama and his army travel the length of India and cross the ocean to reach Ravana's kingdom in Sri Lanka where a great battle takes place between Rama's allied forces and the demon army.

Language. This is a modern prose summary of the Ramayana, not a translation of the Sanskrit poem, so the language used should not pose any difficulties.

Story Length. This unit contains a single overarching story that has been broken up into separate episodes.

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: Ramayana. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

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READING A:

1. The Birth of Rama
2. Vishwamitra, Rama's Teacher
3. Rama and Sita
4. Kaikeyi's Plot
5. Rama's Exile
6. The Death of Dasaratha
7. Rama and Bharata

READING B:

1. The Rakshasas
2. The Golden Deer
3. Rama's Quest for Sita
4. Hanuman
5. Sita in the Asoka Grove
6. The War with Ravana
7. Rama Confronts Ravana
8. Rama's Coronation

(illustration by Warwick Goble)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Ryder's Panchatantra

Overview. The Panchatantra (the "Five Tantras," the "Five Books of Wisdom") is an enormously influential collection of stories from ancient India which has been translated into many languages of both Asia and Europe over the past two millennia; for this unit, you'll be reading the marvelous translation by Arthur Ryder, a great Sanskrit scholar. The Panchatantra uses a "nested" storytelling style, which means that the characters in a given story are also storytellers, creating a "stories within stories within stories" effect. The Panchatantra is the oldest example of a "nested" story collection in world literature, and is thus the ancestor of similar story collections such as the Thousand-and-One Nights (a.k.a. The Arabian Nights) and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. As for the stories themselves, you will find both human drama and animal tales, including many trickster stories, such as the rabbit who tricked a lion named Numskull, or the tiny sparrow who defeated an elephant with the help of a gnat, a woodpecker and a frog.

Language. This is a wonderful English translation of the Sanskrit original, using both prose and verse, just as the Sanskrit does. The stories are in prose, but they contain many proverbs in verse form. Ryder also translates the Sanskrit names into their English equivalents, so instead of strange Sanskrit names, you get to learn what the Sanskrit names actually mean!

Story Length. This unit contains only single-page stories, and those stories are nested one inside the other.

Choosing Between Units. If you are not sure which of the two Panchatantra units to choose — Ryder's Panchatantra of the Tales of Bidpai — the main factor to consider is literary style. Ryder's Panchatantra conveys the story-within-a-story-within-a-story style of the original Sanskrit Panchatantra, while the Tales of Bidpai unit tells the stories individually, without the literary frametale.

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: Panchatantra. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

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READING A:

1. Introduction
2. Numskull and the Rabbit
3. The Ungrateful Man
4. The Plover Who Fought the Ocean
5. Forethought, Ready-Wit, and Fatalist
6. The Duel between Elephant and Sparrow
7. The Shrewd Old Gander
8. The Lion and the Ram

READING B:

1. Right-Mind and Wrong-Mind
2. The Mice That Ate Iron
3. The Sensible Enemy
4. The Foolish Friend
5. How the Rabbit Fooled the Elephant
6. The Cat's Judgement
7. The Brahman's Goat
8. Mouse-Maid Made Mouse
9. The Loyal Mongoose

(The Rabbit and the Elephant)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Bidpai

Overview. The collection of stories known as the Fables of Bidpai is one of the many descendants of the ancient Indian Panchatantra, with "Bidpai" being the name of a storyteller who, like Aesop, was famous for his tales of wit and wisdom. Bidpai is not well known today, but he was quite famous in early modern Europe, and many of the Bidpai stories made their way into the French fables of La Fontaine in the 17th century. In this reading unit, you will be using a modern English translation of the fables of Bidpai by Maude Dutton: The Tortoise and the Geese and Other Fables of Bidpai. Dutton's version eliminates the Panchatantra frametale in order to focus on the stories themselves, and she includes all the most famous Bidpai stories here, such as the tale of the rats who could eat iron, the flying tortoise who was unable to keep his mouth shut, the gardener who foolishly made friends with a bear, and many more.

Language. This is a modern English version of the stories intended for a young audience, so the language used should pose no problems at all.

Story Length. This unit contains only single-page stories, and some pages contain several very short stories.

Choosing Between Units. If you are not sure which of the two Panchatantra units to choose — Ryder's Panchatantra of the Tales of Bidpai — the main factor to consider is literary style. Ryder's Panchatantra conveys the story-within-a-story-within-a-story style of the original Sanskrit Panchatantra, while the Tales of Bidpai unit tells the stories individually, without the literary frametale.

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: Bidpai. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

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READING A:

1. Introduction
2. The Rustic and the Nightingale
3. The King, the Falcon, and the Drinking-Cup
4. The Two Travelers
5. Poor Man, Rich Man, Young Man
6. The Merchant and His Iron
7. Gardener, Farmer, Tyrant
8. The King, the Hermit, and the Two Princes
9. Three Stories about Apes
10. The Ass, the Lion, and the Fox
11. Three Stories about Foxes

READING B:

1. The Hare, the Fox, and the Wolf
2. Three Stories about Snakes
3. The Camel Driver and the Adder
4. Two Tortoise Stories
5. The Crane and the Crab
6. The Lean Cat and the Fat Cat
7. Three Stories about Birds
8. The Partridge and the Hawk
9. The Crow, the Jackal, the Wolf, and the Camel
10. The Three Fish
11. The Lion and the Hare

Myth-Folklore Unit: Twenty-Two Goblins

Overview. The stories in Twenty-Two Goblins (Arthur Ryder's translation of the Sanskrit Vetālapañcaviṃśati) are tales told by a goblin, or vetala in Sanskrit, a supernatural creature that inhabits human corpses. The audience for the goblin's stories is a wise king who is attempting to capture one of these goblin-inhabited corpses; as he is toting the corpse back to his palace, the goblin tells paradoxical stories that each end with a riddling question which the king must answer. I've included twelve of the stories here, along with the dramatic conclusion when you see what finally happens to the king, to the corpse, and to the goblin. You can get a sense of how the stories work from their titles: "The Three Lovers who Brought the Dead Girl to Life: Whose Wife Should She Be?" or "The Girl who Transposed the Heads of her Husband and Brother: Which Combination of Head and Body is Her Husband?" See if you can find the answers as easily as the king does!

Language. This is a wonderful English translation of the Sanskrit original. Ryder also translates the Sanskrit names into their English equivalents, so instead of strange Sanskrit names, you get to learn what the Sanskrit names actually mean!

Story Length. This unit contains only single-page stories, plus a frametale that connects them all together.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on a single page: Twenty-Two Goblins.

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Free audiobook available!

READING A:

1. Introduction.
2. The Three Lovers. The Three Lovers who brought the Dead Girl to Life. Whose wife should she be?
3. Brave, Wise, Clever. The Brave Man, the Wise Man, and the Clever Man. To which should the girl be given?
4. The Girl, Her Husband and Her Brother. The Girl who transposed the Heads of her Husband and Brother. Which combination of head and body is her husband?
5. Food, Women, Cotton. The Specialist in Food, the Specialist in Women, and the Specialist in Cotton. Which is the cleverest?
6. The Four Suitors. The Four Scientific Suitors. To which should the girl be given?
7. The Three Delicate Wives. The Three Delicate Wives of King Virtue-banner. Which is the most delicate?

READING B:

1. The Snake's Poison. The Brahman who died because Poison from a Snake in the Claws of a Hawk fell into a Dish of Food given him by a Charitable Woman. Who is to blame for his death?
2. The Girl and the Thief. The Girl who showed Great Devotion to the Thief. Did he weep or laugh?
3. The General's Wife. The King who died for Love of his General's Wife; the General follows him in Death. Which is the more worthy?
4. The Four Brothers. The Four Brothers who brought a Dead Lion to Life. Which is to blame when he kills them all?
5. The Old Hermit. The Old Hermit who exchanged his Body for that of the Dead Boy. Why did he weep and dance?
6. Father and Son, Daughter and Mother. The Father and Son who married Daughter and Mother. What relation were their children?
7. Conclusion.

Myth-Folklore Unit: Raja Rasalu

Overview. Raja Rasalu (King Rasalu), hero of the Punjab, is the subject of many legends, and the stories below come from two different sources: Flora Annie Steel's Tales of the Punjab and Charles Swynnerton's Adventures of the Punjab Hero Raja Rasalu. The unit begins with the dramatic story of Raja Rasalu's birth and how he first set out on his adventures, accompanied by his mighty horse, Bhaunr' Iraqi. You will read how Raja Rasalu defeated the giant cannibals, and also how he captivated Rani Sundran while disguised as a holy man. With the help of a corpse and a kitten, Raja Rasalu will boldly challenge the evil Sarkap in a deadly game of dice, and you will also read about his friendship with Raja Bhoj and their adventures together. Raja Rasalu is part epic hero and part fairy-tale hero, using supernatural strength and extraordinary intelligence to best every opponent that he faces, as you will see.

Language. Both of the sources used in this unit are modern English retellings of the Raja Rasalu legends, so the language used should not pose any problems.

Story Length. This unit contains both single-page stories as well as three longer stories.

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: Raja Rasalu. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

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READING A: 

1. The King and His Two Queens
2. How Raja Rasalu Was Born
3. How Raja Rasalu's Friends Forsook Him
4. How He Killed the Giants
5. How He Became a Jogi
6. The Dice and the Cricket
7. The Maidens Test Rasalu
8. Rasalu Swings the Maidens
9. The Dog and the Cat
10. How He Played Chaupur with King Sarkap

READING B:

1. The Hunter (Swynnerton)
2. The Hunter (cont.)
3. The Hunter (cont. again)
4. The Hunter (end)
5. The Swans (Swynnerton)
6. The Swans (cont.)
7. Raja Rasalu and Raja Bhoj (Swynnerton)
8. Raja Rasalu and Raja Bhoj (cont.)
9. Raja Rasalu and Raja Bhoj (end)

(illustration by John Batten)

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.

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Free audiobook available!

READING A:

1. The Lion and the Crane
2. The Broken Pot
3. The Magic Fiddle
4. The Cruel Crane Outwitted
5. The Tiger, The Brahman, and the Jackal
6. Harisarman
7. The Charmed Ring
8. The Charmed Ring (cont.)

READING B:

1. The Talkative Tortoise
2. The Gold-Giving Serpent
3. Pride Goeth Before a Fall
4. The Prince and the Fakir
5. Why the Fish Laughed
6. The Demon With the Matted Hair
7. How Sun, Moon, and Wind Went Out to Dinner

Myth-Folklore Unit: Folktales of Bengal

Overview. These stories all come from Bengal, a region now divided between the Indian state of West Bengal and the neighboring nation of Bangladesh. Lal Behari Day collected these stories from Bengali storytellers in the early years of the 20th century as follows: "An old Brahman told me two stories; an old barber, three; an old servant of mine told me two; and the rest I heard from another old Brahman. None of my authorities knew English; they all told the stories in Bengali, and I translated them into English." There is an astrological tale about the power of the planet Sani (Saturn), a famous Indian folktale about a boy with seven mothers, stories about the origin of opium and about the origin of rubies, plus some marvelous tales about ghosts and other supernatural beings, both friendly and frightening. The illustrations, meanwhile, are by Warwick Goble, and they are beautiful!

Language. These stories are told in modern English, so the language used should not pose any problems.

Story Length. This unit contains mostly multi-page stories, along with a few single-page stories.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on a single page: Bengali Folktales.

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READING A:

1. The Evil Eye of Sani
2. The Evil Eye of Sani (cont.)
3. The Evil Eye of Sani (end)
4. The Boy whom Seven Mothers Suckled
5. The Boy whom Seven Mothers Suckled (cont.)
6. The Origin of Opium
7. The Origin of Opium (cont.)
8. The Origin of Opium (end)
9. The Ghost-Brahman

READING B:

1. A Ghostly Wife
2. The Story of a Brahmadaitya
3. The Story of a Brahmadaitya (cont.)
4. The Story of a Brahmadaitya (end)
5. The Origin of Rubies
6. The Origin of Rubies (cont.)
7. The Ghost who was Afraid of being Bagged
8. The Bald Wife

Myth-Folklore Unit: Santal Folklore

Overview. The Santal (Santhal, Sontal, Sonthal) are the largest tribal community in India, living primarily in the states of Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha, and also in the neighboring nations of Nepal and Bangladesh. They speak a Munda language which is related to Vietnamese and Khmer, and they have an incredibly rich storytelling tradition. The stories in this unit come from an enormous collection of Santal stories translated into English by C. H. Bompas: Folklore of the Santal Parganas. In selecting stories for this unit, I have focused on the animal legends, so you will find here many tales of tigers and of jackals, along with supernatural creatures like the ghormuhas who "have heads like horses and bodies and arms like men, and their legs are shaped like men’s but they have only one leg each, and they eat human beings." Between the tigers and the ghormuhas, the world of Santal stories is full of danger and adventure, plus plenty of animal tricksters too!

Language. These folktales are told in contemporary English, so the language used should not pose any problems.

Story Length. This unit contains single-page stories, along with 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: Santal Folklore. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

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READING A:

1. Ledha and the Leopard
2. The Oilman’s Bullock
3. The Monkey and the Girl
4. Ramai and the Animals
5. The Ghormuhas
6. The Raibar and the Leopard
7. The Tiger’s Bride
8. The Killing of the Tiger
9. The Raja's Dream
10. The Raja's Dream (cont.)
11. The Jackal and the Crow
12. The Tiger Cub and the Calf

READING B:

1. The Jackal and the Chickens
2. The Jackal Punished
3. The Tigers and the Cat
4. The Elephant and the Ants
5. A Fox and His Wife
6. The Jackal and the Crocodiles
7. The Hyaena Outwitted
8. The Crow and the Egret
9. The Jackal and the Hare
10. The Brave Jackal
11. The Jackal and the Leopards

(Santal woman and child,
photo by Biplob Rahman)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Khasi Folktales

Overview. The Khasi people live primarily in Meghalaya state in India and also in the neighboring nation of Bangladesh. The stories in Folktales of the Khasis were collected in the early 20th century and cover a wide range of topics. You will find animal legends here about tigers, monkeys, lynxes, and more, and there are also origin stories about the animals such as how the dog and the cat came to live with man, and how the ox and the goat were domesticated. There are tales of cosmic creation that explain what makes the lightning and where the dark spots on the moon come from, and you will also get to meet some of the gods and goddesses of the Khasi religion, including the twin goddesses Ka Ngot and Ka Iam who give their names to the river Ngot and the river Iam, and the mysterious culture-hero U Biskurom who, long ago, dwelt with the people of the earth and taught them wisdom.

Language. These folktales are told in contemporary English, so the language used should not pose any problems.

Story Length. This unit contains only single-page stories.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on a single page: Khasi Folktales.

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READING A:

1. The Tiger and the Monkeys
2. The Legend of the Iei Tree
3. Hunting the Stag Lapalang
4. The Goddesses Ka Ngot and Ka Iam
5. U Biskurom
6. How the Dog Came to live with Man
7. The Stag and the Snail

READING B:

1. The Leap of Ka Likai
2. What caused the Shadows on the Moon
3. U Ksuid Tynjang
4. What makes the Lightning
5. Ka Panshandi, the Lazy Tortoise
6. How the Cat came to live with Man
7. How the Tiger got his Strength
8. Why the Goat lives with Mankind
9. How the Ox came to be the Servant of Man

(Khasi musician)