Jataka Tales
Jataka narratives present earlier births of the Buddha, in human and animal forms, within Buddhist storytelling traditions. Their choices can invite discussion of generosity, leadership, truthfulness and responsibility; some involve demanding ideals of sacrifice.
The versions here draw on different English sources, including Ellen C. Babbitt’s retellings and translated Jataka texts. Read the page’s source note for its particular version, frame and ending rather than assuming all tellings are identical.
22 stories are in this collection right now.
Jataka Tales
Ages 6-8
The Ox Who Won the Forfeit
A boastful owner loses a bet when his strong Ox refuses to move for harsh words, then wins it back the next day with kindness and a garland of flowers.
Jataka Tales
Ages 6-8
The Story of the Sandy Road
Lost in the desert after throwing away their water, a merchant’s caravan is saved when he refuses to give up and a serving boy breaks through to a spring.
Jataka Tales
Ages 9-12
The Wise and Foolish Merchants
Two merchants cross a demon-haunted desert, and while the foolish one pours out his water on a stranger’s word, the wise one asks questions and survives.
Jataka Tales
Ages 9-12
The Mouse Merchant
Following a treasurer’s passing remark, a penniless young man sells a dead mouse for a farthing and trades his way up to two hundred thousand coins.
Jataka Tales
Ages 9-12
The Firewood Gatherer
A stick-gatherer’s son proves he is the king’s child by sitting in mid-air, then grows up to rule as the Firewood Gatherer king.
Jataka Tales
Ages 6-8
The Gray Hair
When his barber finds a single gray hair on his head, a king who still has thousands of years to live gives up his throne to become a hermit.
Jataka Tales
Ages 6-8
The Happy Monk
A hermit who was once a king lies at ease before a visiting king, crying “Oh, happiness!”, and his teacher explains why the holy life brings such joy.
Jataka Tales
Ages 9-12
The Two Stags
An old deer king sends his two sons to lead their herds to the hills at harvest time, and only the careful one, who travels by night, brings every deer home.
Jataka Tales
Ages 9-12
The Banyan Deer (Nigrodhamiga Jataka)
A golden deer king offers his own neck on the block to spare a mother doe, and his courage moves the king to protect every creature in the land.
Jataka Tales
Ages 6-8
How the Turtle Saved His Own Life
Frightened princes mistake a turtle for a demon, and when the court debates how to destroy it, the clever turtle begs not to be thrown into the lake.