Folk Tales and Fairy Stories from India

Abstract

Formerly owned by the Connecticut State Department of Education. Among the sixteen stories here, I find three that are fables. None is illustrated. The Jackal that fell into a Dyer's Vat (96) is familiar. The Crane and the Gander (98) is not totally clear to me. A crane greets a gander from Cockaigne and asks about the territory from which he has come. After hearing glowing reports about the rivers, he asks about the snails. The gander replies that there are none and that he does not care for them. The crane laughs out loud. The narrator asks who was wiser, and I frankly cannot give the answer! The Woodcock that Refused to be Fooled (128) presents a persuasive cat telling the woodcock that she only wants to be friends; in fact she offers to marry the woodcock. The latter should just come down from his tree. The woodcock tells the cat to go fool some silly vain crow instead. Be deaf when an enemy flatters!