Two Crafty Jackals: The Animal Fables of Kalilah and Dimnah
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Authors
Laird, Elizabeth
Issue Date
2013
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Book, Whole
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Abstract
Here is a lovely, brief, well executed Kalilah and Dimnah. New to me and perfectly placed as Kalilah's warning to Dimnah is The Hare, the Wolf, and the Fox (22-23). In fact, several of the stories here are new to me: The Scorpion and the Tortoise (26-27), The Hawk and the Chicken (30), The Gardener and the Nightingale (32-33); and The Frog, the Crab, the Snake, and the Weasel (46-47). Each is strategically placed in the evolving drama. The illustrations here are easier to track than where I have encountered them elsewhere because here they include only one scene and focus on it. The surrealistic multi-colored background mountains from the originals are here. So is the weird fire surrounding the witness tree (48). Particularly good among the illustrations are The Hare and the Lion (25); the climactic battle (43); and The Gardener and the Bear (50). A helpful section on 60-63 shows what the original manuscript pages and their illustrations look like. Dimnah here starves in prison, full of bitter regret for what he had done to Shanzabeh (58). What a fine book!
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Publisher
Aga Khan Museum
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Identifier
10261 (Access ID)