Indian Folk Tales
Village tricksters, rajas and ranis, resourceful daughters, talking animals and figures such as Raja Rasalu appear in these selections associated with Indian storytelling traditions. Published sources include Flora Annie Steel’s Tales of the Punjab and stories selected for Andrew Lang’s fairy books.
The source notes identify the version used and any regional connection that can be supported. A collection label is a way to browse, not proof that a travelling story has only one origin.
123 stories are in this collection right now.
Indian Folk Tales
Charity Alone Conquers
A kind prince keeps forgiving the cruel friend who blinded him and left him for dead, until that friend’s own wicked schemes catch up with him in the end.
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 6-8
The Wrestlers: A Story of Heroes
A giant wrestler sets out to fight India's strongest man, but meets a girl who sweeps away an elephant and an old woman who lets them wrestle on her palm.
Indian Folk Tales
The Wonderful Ring
A spendthrift uses his wife's last jewel to buy four animals. A serpent's ring brings a palace and a new marriage, but recovering the abducted princess requires the animals' help.
Indian Folk Tales
The Two Brothers
Two princes flee abuse by their stepmother and father. Magic birds predict their futures, but the younger must survive betrayal before a shared memory brings the brothers together.
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Wise Jackal
Two runaway princesses find a marble palace in the jungle, and a friendly jackal promises to warn them when the ogre who owns it comes home.
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
Why the Fish Laughed
When a fish in a basket laughs out loud at the queen, the king gives his chief minister six months to find out why, or lose his life.
Indian Folk Tales
The Wonderful Mango Fruit
A pet parrot fetches youth-giving mangoes from beyond seven oceans; a rash king’s cruelty costs the bird, though age and sight are restored.
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
Valiant Vicky, the Brave Weaver
A weaver mistakes a lucky hit on a mosquito for proof of heroism. Further accidents bring him fame, though the reader sees the fear behind his boasts.
Indian Folk Tales
The Soothsayer’s Son
Left nothing but a gloomy horoscope by his father, young Gangazara sets out to meet his fate, helped by a tiger, a snake and a rat he saved from a well.
Indian Folk Tales
The Story of Appayya
A timid Brahman is hailed as a mighty hero after a string of lucky accidents, from a hundred robbers to a lioness and a runaway horse.
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 6-8
The Tiger, the Brahman, and the Jackal
A Brahman releases a tiger that immediately threatens to eat him. A jackal pretends to be confused and persuades the tiger to demonstrate the story inside the cage.
Indian Folk Tales
The Son of Seven Mothers
After a king blinds and imprisons his seven queens, the one surviving son sustains them. A princess who can read the deadly messages he carries helps him recover their sight and confront the hidden past.