North India
Explore stories associated with northern Indian traditions, including Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh where identified by the source. Village and court settings, regional collections and travelling plots all appear; the page notes provide the more specific connection.
47 stories are in this region right now.
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 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
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 Rat’s Wedding
A Rat's helpful gifts become ever larger demands until he claims a human bride. Her return to her family ends his boasts with a cruel punishment.
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Legend of Gwashbrari, the Glacier-Hearted Queen
Proud Westarwan, king of the Kashmir mountains, never looks down at the world, until icy Gwashbrari vows to make him bow to her before sunrise.
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Lambikin
Tiny Lambikin promises hungry beasts he will fatten at Granny’s, rides home inside a drumikin, then meets a Jackal who knows his voice.
Indian Folk Tales
The Lord of Death
An old traveler follows a shape-changing bringer of death through several fatal encounters, but its final explanation leaves him—and the reader—with an unanswered question.
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Mother and the Daughter Who Worshipped the Sun
Sent from home after giving half her mother’s cake to a hungry priest, a poor girl marries a prince and begs the Sun to help when her secret comes out.
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 6-8
The Jackal and the Crocodile
A sweet-talking jackal tricks Miss Crocodile into ferrying him across a stream to a plum tree, and she spends the rest of the tale trying to pay him back.
Indian Folk Tales
The King Who Was Fried
King Karan is fried daily by a faqir for charity gold; after caging praise-singing swans he learns Bikramajit is more generous.
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Grain of Corn
A crow drops a stolen grain into a crack in a tree and must return it to an angry farmer's wife, so he begs a woodman, a king, a queen and others for help.
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Jackal and the Partridge
A fussy jackal says a true friend must make him laugh, make him cry, feed him and save his life, so his friend the partridge sets out to do all four.