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
Ranavirasing
A dying king leaves his young son in the care of his faithful servant Ranavirasing, for a greedy minister is waiting to seize the throne for himself.
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
Peasie and Beansie
Kind Peasie helps a tree, a fire, a pipal and a stream on her way to visit their father, and her selfish sister Beansie hopes to win the same rewards.
Panchatantra Stories
Ages 6-8
Vishnu-Sarman and the King’s Sons
King Sudarsana despairs that his sons have learned nothing, until an old sage promises to make the princes wise in six months by telling them stories.
Indian Folk Tales
Loving Laili
Laili searches for Majnun through years of enchantment, then repeatedly rescues him when he dismisses her warnings; their reunion ends in a palace they cannot leave.
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 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 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 the Raja’s Son Won the Princess Labam
Grateful ants and tigers, stolen magical objects and Labam's own advice help a prince face her father's changing, deadly marriage tests.
The Dog and the Wolf
A skinny farm dog bargains with a wolf for time to grow fat on feast scraps, then greets him later from a stable roof out of reach.
Indian Folk Tales
Chandralekha and the Eight Robbers
Chandralekha, a brilliant dancer’s daughter, outwits a gang of eight robbers night after night until a prince helps her set one last trap in the forest.
Indian Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
Dorani
A prince marries the golden-haired Dorani, who will not say a word to him and leaves every night, so he makes himself invisible to discover her secret.
Bengal Folk Tales
The Boy with the Moon on His Forehead
Twins stolen at birth by jealous queens grow up in a potter’s home, and the boy with a moon on his brow crosses an ocean for a magic flower.