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.
Bengal Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Indigent Brahman
The goddess Durga gives a poor Brahman a pot that pours out endless sweets; when a cheat steals it, her second gift is a pot full of demons.
Bengal Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Origin of Opium
A holy man’s pet mouse keeps wishing to be something grander, from cat to elephant to beautiful girl, until her story ends in the first poppy plant.
Bengal Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Field of Bones
Four friends learn spells that can restore life. After recklessly reviving a tiger, they meet a princess whose lost community gives those skills a different purpose.
Bengal Folk Tales
The Bald Wife
A cruelly treated wife is kind to a cotton plant, a plantain tree, a bull and a basil plant, and a forest sage rewards her with beauty and riches.
Bengal Folk Tales
The Boy Whom Seven Mothers Suckled
Seven blinded queens raise one boy in a hillside cave, and he grows strong enough to outwit the demon queen who has been eating the king’s city.
Bengal Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
Life’s Secret
Prince Dalim Kumar’s life is hidden in a necklace inside a fish, and when his jealous stepmother wears it he dies by day and wakes only at night.
Jataka Tales
Ages 6-8
The Story of the Sandy Road
Lost in the desert after throwing away their water, a merchant’s caravan is saved when he refuses to give up and a serving boy breaks through to a spring.
Jataka Tales
Ages 6-8
The Quarrel of the Quails
A flock of quails outwits a fowler by flying off together with his net, until a silly quarrel breaks out and they are all caught at once.
Hitopadesha
Ages 9-12
The Story of the Tiger and the Traveller
An old tiger offers a golden bangle and a story of repentance, persuading a traveller to approach a danger he initially recognizes.
Jataka Tales
Ages 6-8
The Ox Who Won the Forfeit
A boastful owner loses a bet when his strong Ox refuses to move for harsh words, then wins it back the next day with kindness and a garland of flowers.
Hitopadesha
Ages 6-8
The Story of the Terrible Bell
A whole town flees from a bell-ringing goblin in the hills, until one sensible woman goes to see for herself what is really making the noise.
Hitopadesha
Ages 6-8
The Story of the Tortoise and the Geese
Two kind geese carry their friend the tortoise through the sky on a stick, but he must keep his mouth shut tight the whole way, and that is very hard.