Wisdom & Cleverness
Resourceful escapes, sharp observations, advice and ingenious tricks shape these tales. Look beyond who wins: what information did a character use, whose help mattered and who was harmed? Comparing an effective trick with a well-judged decision makes room for different readings of cleverness and wisdom.
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 6-8
The Brahmarakshas and the Hair
A greedy landlord calls up a giant demon servant who must always have work, and when the work runs out, only his wife knows how to keep it busy.
Indian Folk Tales
The Brahmin Girl Who Married a Tiger
A tiger disguises himself as a learned young man and deceives a family into marriage. Threatened and isolated in the forest, the young wife sends a crow to summon her brothers.
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 6-8
A Lesson for Kings
Two good kings, each searching for someone to tell him his faults, meet head-on in a narrow lane where neither chariot can get out of the way.
Indian Folk Tales
Bopoluchi the Clever Girl
Tricked into going off with a robber who claims to be her long-lost uncle, an orphan girl must rely on her quick wits and her courage to get away from him.
Indian Folk Tales
The Two Brothers
Two princes flee abuse by their stepmother and father. Magic birds predict their futures, but the younger must survive betrayal before a shared memory brings the brothers together.
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Wise Jackal
Two runaway princesses find a marble palace in the jungle, and a friendly jackal promises to warn them when the ogre who owns it comes home.
Indian Folk Tales
The Magic Fiddle
Jealous wives drown a cooking sister with a spirit's help; she returns via a bamboo fiddle, marries a chief's son, and faces her brothers.
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Magic Shoes and Staff
Putraka, a generous young king whose own father plots his murder, tricks two brothers out of flying shoes, a wishing staff and a magic bowl.
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 6-8
The Monkey with the Tom-tom
A crafty monkey loses the tip of his tail, then swaps and tricks his way from a razor to firewood to puddings and finally to a drum he loves to beat.
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 Magic Bed
A kind prince shares his cakes with the Ant-King and pulls a thorn from a tiger’s paw, and both friends help him win the dazzling Princess Lalun.
Indian Folk Tales
The Five Wise Words of the Guru
Ram Singh leaves a scolding stepmother with five guru rules; obeying them through court dangers proves his honesty to the rajah.