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 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
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
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 Snake-Woman and King Ali Mardan
King Ali Mardan falls under the spell of a weeping girl he finds in the forests of Kashmir, until a wise jogi tells him what she truly is.
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.
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
Ages 6-8
The Sparrow and the Crow
Before the crow can share the sparrow’s khichri, he must wash, and so begins a long chain of asking, from pond to deer to cow, grass and blacksmith.
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 9-12
The Thanksgiving of the Wazir
A wise old wazir gives thanks when his king cuts off a fingertip, and is thrown in prison—until that missing fingertip saves the king from sacrifice.
Indian Folk Tales
The Three Calamities
Minister Bodhaditya hears Kali weep over three threats to the king; he averts arrows, poisoned rice, and a serpent, then proves loyalty.
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 6-8
The Three Deaf Men
A deaf husband, his deaf wife and a deaf shepherd talk at cross purposes over cabbage and a lost cow, until a sharp stranger walks off with the calf.
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.