Tales of the Sun (South India)
Tales of the Sun; or, Folklore of Southern India was published in 1890 and credits Mrs. Howard Kingscote and Pandit Natesa Sastri as its collectors. Its stories include Brahmins, kings, tricksters and tests of fortune, filtered through the collection’s nineteenth-century publication.
The retellings retain the narrative while examining assumptions about status, gender and punishment where they arise. Use the individual audience guidance, since the collection is not uniformly suited to family reading.
29 stories are in this collection right now.
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
Light Makes Prosperity
Her mother breaks a vow to marry her daughters to their ruined uncle's sons, so the youngest weds one anyway and uses one lamp-lit night to bring wealth home.
Indian Folk Tales
Good Will Grow Out of Good
A king orders a deadly trap after an untested accusation against an old Brahmin. A breakfast invitation changes who reaches the executioners first.
Indian Folk Tales
Good Luck to the Lucky One
A desperate beggar moves into a haunted mansion and answers the voice crying “Shall I fall down?”—but the owner sees the result very differently.
Indian Folk Tales
Chandralekha and the Eight Robbers
Chandralekha, a brilliant dancer’s daughter, outwits a gang of eight robbers night after night until a prince helps her set one last trap in the forest.
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
Eating Up the Protector
A snake threatens the Brahmin who rescues it, then reconsiders before he returns. A king uses the tale to recognize his own ingratitude.