The Tortoise and the Geese and Other Fables of Bidpai
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Authors
Lynch, Maude Barrows Dutton
Issue Date
1908
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Issue
Type
Book, Whole
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Abstract
Thirty-four fables, mostly told in two or three pages apiece, together with twelve black-and-white illustrations. The stories here are thus offered individually, rather than in the story within a story framework usual for Bidpai. The monkey gets his tail caught in the board that is being split (6). Two traditional stories are particularly well told: The Gardener and the Bear (22) and The Ass, the Lion, and the Fox (101). Also well told is The Blind Man and the Snake (39). The blind horse-rider has grabbed a snake instead of his whip, and now he will not believe his riding friend who tells him that it is a snake and that he had better get rid of it. Other good stories include The Lean Cat and the Fat Cat (73), in which the former learns from the latter that the king's table is sumptuous. The lean cat's poor mistress warns him that he will do better to keep eating her broth. Unfortunately, this very day the king gets frustrated with too many cats around and delivers an edict that all cats in the palace will be hanged. The fat cat is smart enough to stay away, but the lean cat is apprehended immediately and killed. Also good is The King, the Hermit, and the Two Princes (78). The king hides much of his treasure from his dissolute sons and asks a trusted hermit friend to see that they experience want before they receive the treasure. After the king's death, the older son drives the younger out. The latter goes to the hermitage to seek his father's old friend. He learns the simple life and finds the treasure. His brother gets into a war, loses it for lack of money, and is killed. The generals deliberate over a good new king who will be peaceful and prudent. They decide on the younger son at the hermitage. Two of the best illustrations show the lion jumping into the well to confront his adversary (frontispiece) and the camel ready to be devoured by the lion and his three wicked counselors (116). I have this book in two different formats and will keep both in the collection. The good copy has thinner, better paper and is covered with yellow cloth on the front of which is a large illustration of TT. The second copy has a plain green cloth cover.
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Publisher
Houghton Mifflin Company
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PubMed ID
DOI
Identifier
4271 (Access ID)