The best of children’s folktales, fables, animal lore, folklore, myths, fairy tales and legends from around the world! Discover our collected tales for kids from India, China, Burma and many other countries… Some of these tales will make you think, some will make you laugh, some will make you wonder, but almost all of them have hidden wisdom for you to discover!
99 items in this section. Displaying page 10 of 10
Kallu Raven's Breakfast Treat
This happened years and years ago in a bright and busy forest.Two trees, the Neem and the Peepal, faced each other. A big, black raven called Kallu had his nest on the Peepal tree, while the Neem tree was the home of Nanni sparrow. Kallu was a wily bird and he felt no fondness for Nanni sparrow. After some weeks, Nanni laid three tiny, beautiful eggs. Soon they hatched. Her nest came alive with the sweet twitter of the baby sparrows....
The Sweet-Mad Hero
A North Indian folktale retold Shyam was a worried man. He had to go to Rampur on work. It happened to be his in-laws village. Shyam intended to stay with them. But being newly married he hardly knew his in-laws. His wife, too, was not accompanying him. Shy Shyam was really worried! He thought hard for a while. Then he smiled. He would force his friend, Karan, to accompany him! “Of course I’ll come with you!...
The Travellers
In a temple city in south India, lived a group of young merchants who wanted to become rich. They had often heard about traders who had amassed a great deal of wealth in the course of their travels across the world. So, one fine day, the merchants set out on a long journey in quest of riches and engaged in trade. Unfortunately though, they did not become as rich as they had thought they would. Worse, they had spent more money on their travels than they had earned in the course of their trade – and that was galling....
The Troublesome Slippers
Abukashan was a wealthy merchant, notorious for his stingy nature. He had a pair of slippers that were famous in town because they were completely worn out. The slippers had outlived their lives but Abukashan simply refused to buy a new pair. One day he went to a public bath, visited by all the rich and famous people. He left his slippers outside and went into the shower. A few minutes later a judge entered the bath leaving his new and shining slippers outside....
The Ridge Forest
A long time ago, when it was all right for men to hunt animals, there was a man who was known to be a perfect shot. He would always kill a wild animal in one shot. He never missed and he never shot an animal except when he was hungry. One morning, he took his gun and headed off to the jungle to hunt. He walked for many a mile before he sat down to rest....
The 'Groom'ed Horse
Chetak was the most attractive horse in the neighbourhood. His proud owner, Ram Singh, never lost an opportunity to show him off to his friends and neighbours. “Here he is, my pride and joy,” he would exclaim in a dramatic way as he opened the door to the young stallion’s stable. And Chetak would come out galloping, his shiny brown coat and light brown mane glistening in the sun. Ram Singh would then ride him across the farm, for the benefit of the admiring crowd....
How Men Lost Their Tails
The hill people have many theories about the origin of mankind. Some say that God fashioned the first people from clay with his own hands; some say that they were hatched from enormous eggs. They emerged from a crack in the ground, from the womb of Mother Earth; they were born of a goddess; they were even born of animals. How Men Lost Their Tails [Illustrations by: Amina Jayal] But all agree that, however they came into being, they were very different from what they are today, as the following stories show....
War Drum
Mukabla, the Jackal was very sad. He had not eaten for many days. He had travelled all over the jungle searching for food, but with no luck. Now, he was hungry and tired too. It was a hot afternoon, so Mukabla decided to rest under a tree. The tired Jackal immediately fell asleep. Soon it was dark. Suddenly, Mukabla was woken up by some strange noises. War Drum [Illustrations by Amarjeet Malik] Wooosh-dum-dum-shhhhh-dum-da-dum-da-dum....
The Priest's Successor
There was once a famous temple, high up in the hills of Assam. The priest of this temple was widely respected and known to be a great scholar. When he grew very old, he started searching for a younger priest who could take charge of the temple after his death. But, much to his dismay, he could not find any suitable person. As the priest lay on his deathbed, he called the trustee of the temple and told him, “After my death, make sure that only a “human being” replaces me as priest of this temple....
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