Indian Fables
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Authors
Olbracht, Ivan
Issue Date
1965
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Book, Whole
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©1964 Artia. Designed and produced by Artia. There are six sections in this engaging book. The prose is punctuated, as is usual in this tradition, with poetic couplets summarizing some wisdom. The first, The faithless friend, reproduces Kalila and Dimna, but with less subtlety, I would say, than in Ramsay Wood's version. Snap and Lap are the two jackal friends (not brothers), the former the villain. The monkeys tail gets caught in the log (13). Snap's plot includes the allegation that Muyaba, the bull, has an army waiting on the border. One of the book's best illustrations depicts the squishing of the louse (46). Here it is a duck, not a cormorant, that becomes cynical after fishing for a star (52). The second story, Punishment, is the sequel to the first. Snap is winning his trial when the panther tells of the conversation he has overheard between the two jackals after the bull's death. Lap then appears to confirm the story. The six friends in the third section, Faithful friends, include two pigeons in addition to the usual raven, mouse, turtle, and fawn. Mrs. Mousie had run off romantically with Whisky Greymouse, who leaves her when she fails to reach the hermit's basket. The fourth section, Pigeonton, describes the long struggle between the lower class pigeons and the predatory evil owls. Cinder is the hero of the former and their eventual king. Another of the best illustrations comes in The Bewitched Goat on 145, where the monk is beside himself with people calling his goat a dog. The fifth section, The monkey heart, sets things a bit differently from other traditional versions. Here an exiled monkey king sits in a tree on the shore of a river. A female turtle from the other side of the river thinks that the monkey loves her dearly because he throws down figs when she is in the river near his tree. He always throws down figs because he likes the plump sound and the rings a falling fig makes in the water! Her jealous husband finally tries to kill the monkey but botches it, and the monkey escapes with the usual lie about having forgotten to bring his heart. The last section, Ilad, Balad, and Irakhta, is almost entirely new to me. It offers conflicting interpretations of King Balad's dream with its eight visions, the first interpretation offered by selfish Brahmins who want to seize power and manipulate Balad. Luckily, the king seeks the advice of the wise Kebarijun, who offers the truthful interpretation. Do not miss the German translation published in 1964, Altindische Fabeln. Liesler seems to have done the art in 1955, to judge by his signatures on the art work. The German edition indicates that the Czech original was published in 1962. This copy shows wear on the spine and some water damage at the bottom of the front cover but is internally clean.
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Publisher
Paul Hamlyn
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Identifier
3355 (Access ID)