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
Prince Lionheart and His Three Friends
Prince Lionheart frees two haunted cities and wins kingdoms for his three friends, and when a witch's trick kills him, their skills bring him back to life.
Indian Folk Tales
Little Anklebone
A little shepherd boy is given up to a hungry wolf by his own aunt, yet his tiny anklebone goes on to scare off robbers and make a pond of milk.
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
How Raja Rasalu Journeyed to the City of King Sarkap
Sheltering from a storm in an old graveyard, Rasalu talks all night with a headless ghost, who warns him how King Sarkap cheats at dice and how to beat him.
Indian Folk Tales
How Raja Rasalu Became a Jogi
Disguised as a begging holy man, Rasalu sings at the gate of the famously beautiful Queen Sundran, wins her heart and then walks away without a backward glance.
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
Grasp All, Lose All
A poor oil-seller finds four rubies on a magic shore, and a moneylender, a minister and a rajah all want more, until greed carries them away for good.
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
How Raja Rasalu’s Friends Forsook Him
The carpenter's son defeats a snake during the first watch, but Rasalu faces a far greater horror. His companions ask to return home, and he lets them go.
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
How Raja Rasalu Went Out into the World
Rasalu leaves his underground home a year early, damages the townspeople's water pots and misreads his frightened father's silence before a painful farewell.
Indian Folk Tales
How Raja Rasalu Was Born
Puran returns after his father's brutal punishment and confronts Queen Lona. His promise of a son is followed by a separate prophecy that shapes Rasalu's hidden childhood.
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
How Raja Rasalu Swung the Seventy Fair Maidens, Daughters of the King
A rescued cricket helps Rasalu separate millet from sand. His next encounter with Sarkap's daughters turns violent before poisoned food reveals the king's treachery.
Indian Folk Tales
How Raja Rasalu Played Chaupur with King Sarkap
Rasalu stakes his armour, his horse and his own head in a game against a cheating king, and a kitten he rescued from a potter’s kiln helps turn the tables.
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
How Raja Rasalu Killed the Giants
In Nila city Rasalu meets a weeping mother whose last son is due to be handed to the giants, and he rides off in the young man’s place to face them himself.