India
Explore stories associated with Indian traditions, including the Panchatantra, Jataka narratives and regional collections. A tale’s setting, the place where a version was recorded and the history of its publication are different kinds of evidence. Read the source note for the connection supported on each page.
219 stories are in this region right now.
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 6-8
The Blind Men and the Elephant
A king gathers all the blind men of his city to feel an elephant, and each of them is certain that he alone knows what an elephant is really like.
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
King Shibi and the Dove
A frightened dove flies into King Shibi's robe, and when the eagle chasing it demands its prey, the king offers his own flesh instead.
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
Savitri and the Lord of Death
When a wise man warns that her chosen husband will die within a year, Princess Savitri marries him anyway, and when Death comes for him, she follows.
Hitopadesha
All Ages
The Doves and the Hunter’s Net
Caught together in a hunter’s net, a flock of doves follows their wise king’s plan to fly off with the net and seek help from a friendly mouse.
Jataka Tales
The Wise Hare
Four animal friends keep a fast day; when Sakka tests them, the hare offers himself to the fire and his image is painted on the moon.
Jataka Tales
Ages 6-8
The Golden Goose: A Jataka Tale
A golden goose gives a poor family one feather at a time, until the greedy mother plucks him bare and finds that stolen feathers turn plain white.
The Holy Quail
Left behind in the nest by his frightened parents as a forest fire roars closer, a young quail who cannot yet fly turns the flames back with an Act of Truth.
Jataka Tales
Ages 6-8
How the Monkey Saved His Troop
When a king’s archers surround a mango tree full of monkeys, their Chief stretches across the river and lets the whole troop run to safety over his back.
Panchatantra Stories
Ages 9-12
The Potter Who Became a Warrior
A potter’s scar from a drunken fall is taken for a battle wound, until he honestly tells the king the truth and loses his place at court.
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
Vikram and the Vampire: The King’s Ultimate Test
During one night in a cremation ground, a king repeatedly carries a talking corpse whose riddles delay a dangerous ceremony.
The Cat, the Mouse, the Lizard and the Owl
A cat caught in a hunter's snare begs her old enemy the mouse to bite through the string, and the mouse agrees, but only on his own careful terms.
Indian Folk Tales
The King Who Would Be Stronger Than Fate
A hermit tells a proud king that his baby daughter will marry the son of a slave, and the king sets out to prove that he is stronger than fate.