Tiny Tales: Traditional Stories in 100 Words: Book: India

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Tiny Tales from India

Welcome to Tiny Tales from India. This is a collection of two hundred stories from India, and each story is just 100 words long.

PDF - EPUB - MOBI - HTML - TXT - Audio - Kindle - Print - Random

Creative Commons. This work is released with a Creative Commons license: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. That means you can remix and reuse individual stories or the contents of the whole book with attribution for non-commercial purposes, provided that you release your work with the same license. Find out more.
Attribution: Tiny Tales from India by Laura Gibbs.
Version: July 8 2020.

You can access the book in a variety of formats, along with individual stories here at the blog (see story title list and links below).

Pressbooks. This is a web-based presentation of the book with all the stories on one page. Even better: you can highlight the stories using Hypothesis; just click on the upper right-hand corner for the Hypothesis toolbar.

Audiobook. There is a free audiobook you can listen to via SoundCloud. I've also made the mp3 files available for download if you prefer not to use SoundCloud and/or if you want to repurpose the audio (which is also released with the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license).

EPUB. You can use this EPUB file for ebook readers like Nook, etc.

MOBI. You can download this MOBI file to load onto your Kindle, and this Kindle MOBI file is free! Here's how to add a free MOBI file to your Kindle.

Kindle Store. The Kindle book is available at Amazon for 99 cents (which is the lowest price you can set for a Kindle book; see the MOBI option above for a free Kindle-compatible version).

Print. There is a print version available at Amazon for $5.99, with free Prime shipping (although it's print-on-demand, so it takes about 10 days total).

Randomizer. You can see a story from the book at random, and you can also get the javascript code to add the randomizer to your own blog or website if you want.

Text file. This is a plain text file, no special characters. This option might be useful if you want to repurpose the entire book with your own formatting; see Creative Commons licensing CC BY-NC-SA above.

HTML. If you want to read a web-based presentation without the Hypothesis toolbar, here is a very simple HTML version.

PDF. You can download a PDF copy of the book.

Diigo. If you are interested in searching the contents of the book, then the Diigo bookmark collection might be useful! You can use keyword searches of the #india:book items, Boolean searches, etc. For example: Maya.

~ ~ ~

TINY TALES FROM INDIA
A Book of Two Hundred 100-Word Stories

ABOUT THIS BOOK

This book opens with traditional folktales from the Panchatantra, the Hitopadesha, and the Katha-Sarit-Sagara ("Story-Stream-Ocean"), plus Jataka tales of the Buddha's past lives. You will also find stories of the Indian gods and goddesses, plus parables from Ramakrishna, who was both a sadhu (holy man) and storyteller. The book closes with anecdotes about the legendary jesters Tenalirama from the court of Krishnadevaraya in southern India and Birbal from the court of Akbar in the north. The two hundred stories in this book represent only a tiny fraction of the Indian storytelling tradition. To read more stories from India, visit:
India.LauraGibbs.net

The paragraph you just read about this book is exactly one hundred words long, as is this paragraph, and that's also the length of each story in this book. The stories go fast, but you can slow down when you find one you like. Read it again. Let it sink in. Maybe even write your own version of the story, using your imagination to add more details. Meanwhile, if you don't like a story, don't get bogged down; just move on to the next one. There are more 100-word stories from India, plus stories from other cultural traditions, at:
100Words.LauraGibbs.net

1. The Lion and the Rabbit

Laura Gibbs · 1. The Lion and the Rabbit

Every day, the lion demanded that the animals send him a victim to eat.
One day, it was the rabbit's turn. The rabbit took his time on the way, thinking of a plan to escape the lion.
"Why are you late?" the lion roared.
"My apologies," said the rabbit. "I saw an even bigger lion, and I was frightened."
"Show me!" the lion commanded.
The rabbit took the lion to a well. "The lion's in there," said the rabbit.
The lion looked in and saw the other lion. Infuriated, he jumped in the well and drowned, attacking his own reflection.

Inspired by: The Panchatantra, translated by Arthur Ryder. It is in Book 1, Story 10. Rumi includes the story also (Arberry, Masnavi Tales 5). This story is told about a tiger and a rabbit in Raju's Indian Fables.
Notes: There are many stories about animals being fooled by reflections in the water as the lion is here. Compare the famous Aesop's fable about the dog crossing the stream: The Dog and the Shadow.

Here is an illustration by E. Boyd Smith:

2. The Lion-King and the Camel

Laura Gibbs · 2. The Lion-King and the Camel

The lion-king was starving.
"You must eat the royal camel," the crow advised.
"But he's my devoted courtier!" the lion protested.
"Don't worry," said the jackal.
"He'll agree!" said the leopard.
So the lion-king summoned his courtiers. "I'm starving!" he roared.
"Eat me!" said the crow.
"You're just skin and feathers," the jackal scoffed. "Eat me!"
"You're too scrawny," observed the leopard. "Eat me!"
This show of loyalty inspired the camel, who assumed that another courtier would speak up to save his life also. "The leopard's meat is tough," the camel exclaimed. "Eat me!"
So the lion ate the camel.

Inspired by: The Panchatantra, translated by Arthur Ryder.
Notes: It is in Book 1, Story 16. The full version of the story develops the rivalry between the members of the lion's court, which is also the main theme of the Panchatantra's first frametale about a lion king and the scheming jackals in his court.

3. The Lion-King and the Jackal

Laura Gibbs · 3. The Lion-King and the Jackal

The lion-king had grown old. "Fetch me something easy to kill!" he said to the jackal, his minister.
The jackal found a she-donkey in a dusty stable.
"I'll take you to a pasture of fresh green grass!" he said.
The donkey followed the jackal eagerly straight to the lion, but he was too weak; when the lion lunged for her, she escaped.
"Come back!" said the jackal. "The lion loves you! He wants to make you his queen."
"Me? Queen?"
The foolish donkey followed the jackal again. This time, the lion killed her. "Delicious!" he exclaimed, and the jackal agreed.

Inspired by: The Panchatantra, translated by Arthur Ryder.
Notes: It is in Book 4, Story 3. There's a final section in the original story where the lion goes to bathe before eating and the jackal eats the donkey's heart. When the lion comes back, he is angry that the heart is missing but the jackal explains that the donkey clearly had not heart (i.e. "brains") to begin with since she was foolish enough to come back a second time. Also, in the original story, the jackal tries to persuade the donkey that the lion was a she-donkey, but I switched it to the lion wanting to make the donkey his queen.

4. A Story for the Lion-King

Laura Gibbs · 4. A Story for the Lion-King

"Tell me a story that goes on forever," the lion king shouted, "or you will all die."
"You're the best storyteller," the animals said to the jackal. "Please save us!"
The jackal smiled and began. "O King, a fisherman went fishing with his net."
"What next?" asked the lion.
"He caught many fish, but the net was torn, and a fish escaped."
"What next?"
"A second fish escaped."
"What next?"
"A third fish escaped."
The lion yawned.
"And a fourth. A fifth… A sixth..."
The lion fell asleep listening to the endless story, and so the jackal saved the animals.

Inspired by: Indian Fables by Ramaswami Raju.
Notes: The "endless story" is Stith-Thompson Tale Type 2300, and it is found in many places around the world, but especially in India. There is even a version with Akbar and Birbal: Birbal Tells an Endless Story. Raju tells the story about a fox, but I changed it to a jackal, who appears more frequently than the fox as the lion's chief courtier.

(PxFuel)

5. The Lion and the Cat

Laura Gibbs · 5. The Lion and the Cat

A lion lived in a cave where there was a mouse who kept nibbling his mane, so the lion decided to hire a cat.
"I'll pay you to defend me from that mouse!" he promised.
The cat prowled the cave, and the terrified mouse stayed hidden in its hole.
The happy lion shared his food with the cat, and she had never eaten so well!
Finally, though, the mouse had to come out to look for food, whereupon the cat caught the mouse and killed it.
Then the lion stopped feeding the cat, and she died of hunger, poor thing.

Inspired by: Hitopadesha, or, The Book of Good Counsel translated by B. Hale-Wortham
Notes: It is in Book 2, Story 4.

(Pxfuel)

6. The Lion in the Jackal's Cave

Laura Gibbs · 6. The Lion in the Jackal's Cave

A hungry lion hid inside a cave. "I'll eat whoever comes in," he thought to himself.
The lion waited there all day.
The jackal who lived in that cave finally came home and said, "Hello, Cave!"
The lion said nothing.
"Cave, you know you're supposed to answer!" said the jackal.
The lion was uncertain what to do. "Hello to you!" the lion roared, and the cave made his roar sound even louder.
The jackal laughed as he ran away. "You foolish lion!" he shouted. "That's how I know whether the cave is safe or not. Next time, remember: keep quiet."

Inspired by: The Panchatantra, translated by Arthur Ryder.
Notes: It is in Book 3, Story 16. I added the English proverb "Silence is golden."

7. The Blue Jackal

Laura Gibbs · 7. The Blue Jackal

There was once a jackal who fell into a vat of blue indigo dye. The other animals were amazed when they saw the blue jackal!
"The gods have sent me to be your ruler," the blue jackal explained. He made the lion his prime minister, the tiger was the royal treasurer, and the elephant was his doorkeeper.
One day, though, the blue jackal heard other jackals howling in the distance. He could not resist; he began howling too.
"He's just an ordinary jackal!" shouted the other animals.
So the lion and the tiger attacked their former king and killed him.

Inspired by: The Panchatantra, translated by Arthur Ryder. It is in Book 1, Story 14.
Notes: You can read about the history of indigo dye at Wikipedia.

Video at YouTube:

8. The Jackal and his Brothers

Laura Gibbs · 8. The Jackal and his Brothers

A lioness had given birth to twins.
The lion went hunting and caught a baby jackal. "Eat this!" he told her.
The lioness, however, nursed the jackal, who grew up with the lions.
One day the cubs saw an elephant; the lions wanted to attack, but the jackal warned them away.
"It's too dangerous!" he said.
The lion twins snarled. "You're such a coward!"
The lioness feared for the jackal. "You aren't really a lion," she told him. "You should run away before your lion brothers kill you."
So the jackal went away and found his jackal brothers at last.

Inspired by: The Panchatantra, translated by Arthur Ryder.
Notes: It is in Book 4, Story 5.

9. The Tiger Cub and the Goats

Laura Gibbs · 9. The Tiger Cub and the Goats

A she-tiger died giving birth.
Wild goats found the cub and cared for him.
The cub ate grass like the goats, bleated like the goats, and thought he really was a goat.
A tiger then attacked the goats and found the cub. "Why are you eating grass? Why are you bleating?" he asked.
"That's what goats do," replied the cub.
"But you're a tiger!" he said.
Then he took the cub to a pond. "Look: that's your face! That's you!"
Thus the big tiger became a teacher to the cub who finally learned how to be a tiger after all.

Inspired by: Tales and Parables of Sri Ramakrishna
Notes: This is story 167 in the book. You can find out more about Ramakrishna at Wikipedia.

(needpix.com)

10. The Lion and the Ram

Laura Gibbs · 10. The Lion and the Ram

A ram once strayed from its flock and wandered into the forest.
In the forest there lived a lion who had never seen a ram before.
So when the lion first saw this ram, he stared in amazement. "Look at those horns! That creature might be even more powerful than me!" he thought, and he carefully avoided the ram.
A few days later, though, he saw the ram again. It was eating grass.
"This creature is a grass-eater!" said the lion to himself. "It is surely no match for me."
The lion then sprang on the ram and killed it.

Inspired by: The Panchatantra, translated by Arthur Ryder. It is in Book 1, Story 23.
Notes: Compare the Aesop's fable about the camel: The First Appearance of the Camel.

(ram)

11. The Jackal and the Dead Elephant

Laura Gibbs · 11. The Jackal and the Dead Elephant

A jackal found a dead elephant but couldn't chew through the elephant's tough hide.
Then a lion arrived.
Terrified, the jackal said, "I saved the elephant for you!"
"I don't eat what others kill," said the lion. "You may have it."
The lion left, and a leopard arrived.
The jackal shouted, "Hurry! Let's eat the lion's elephant before he returns."
The leopard bit into the elephant, tearing the hide with her sharp teeth and claws.
Then the jackal shrieked, "The lion's coming!"
Fearing the lion, the leopard ran off, leaving the jackal to feast on the whole elephant by himself.

Inspired by: The Panchatantra, translated by Arthur Ryder.
Notes: It is in Book 4, Story 11. In the original story, the jackal also scares off a tiger and another jackal, but I had to shorten it.

12. Lion, Jackal, and Camel

Laura Gibbs · 12. Lion, Jackal, and Camel

The lion was starving, as were his attendants: a jackal and a camel.
The jackal proclaimed, "I dreamed that Yama, God of Death, will grant rebirth to the devoted courtier who offers his body as food."
Without hesitation, the camel declared, "I accept Yama's promise of rebirth!"
So the lion and the jackal killed the camel.
Then, in the distance, they heard the jingling bells of a camel caravan.
"It's Yama and his Death-Caravan coming to avenge the camel!" shouted the jackal. "Run away, O King, run away!"
The lion ran, and the jackal had the whole camel to himself.

Inspired by: The Panchatantra, translated by Arthur Ryder.
Notes: It is in Book 1, Story 24. The story also features a rival courtier, a wolf, so the jackal has to get rid of the wolf also: to do so, he sends the lion away to bathe while he and the wolf guard the camel; the jackal then urges the wolf to start eating, which enrages the lion so that the lion drives the wolf away.

13. The Jackal and the Crow

Laura Gibbs · 13. The Jackal and the Crow

A crow perched high in a tree, eating some delicious fruit.
A jackal decided to flatter the crow, hoping she would drop the fruit so that he could catch it.
“Fair lady, you look like a peacock up there!” he said to the crow. "Your feathers are dazzling. I've never seen anyone as beautiful and as graceful as you!"
The crow then flattered the jackal in return. “Kind sir, you look like a handsome young tiger!” she said, and as she spoke, all the fruit fell out of her mouth.
The jackal then grabbed the fruit and ran away, laughing.

Inspired by: The Jataka, translated by W.H.D. Rouse.
Notes: This is the Jambu-Khadaka Jataka. You can find a collection of different versions of this tale here: The Fox and the Crow. You can read more about jambu fruit, also known as water-apples, at Wikipedia.

Here is an illustration from a Kalila-wa-Dimna manuscript:

14. The Jackal and the Peacock

Laura Gibbs · 14. The Jackal and the Peacock

A jackal and a peacock were friends.
One day the peacock ate some plums, while the jackal ate a lamb.
The peacock then planted the plum-pits. "I'll grow some plums!"
The jackal planted the bones. "I'll grow some lambs!"
The plum-pits sprouted, but not the bones.
The peacock mocked the jackal. "Your crop is a failure," he said, laughing.
Then one day the jackal didn't catch anything for supper, and he thought about how the peacock had mocked him.
"If I can't have lamb," the jackal decided, "I can have peacock!"
So the jackal killed the peacock and ate him.

Inspired by: Tales of the Punjab by Flora Annie Steel
Notes: The term peahen refers to a female peafowl, and the peacock is a male; I made the story about a peacock.

(Indian peahen)

15. The Jackal and the Otters

Laura Gibbs · 15. The Jackal and the Otters

There were once two otters who caught a fish, and then they quarreled about how to divide it.
“The middle is mine," one otter said. "You can have the head and the tail."
“No!” said the other otter. “I want the middle! I'll give you the head and the tail.”
A greedy jackal came by. "I'll be glad to judge between you," he said.
The otters explained what had happened.
"Oh, that's easy!" the jackal exclaimed. "You take the head... and you take the tail..." and then the jackal ran away with the middle part of the fish for himself.

Inspired by: The Jataka, translated by H.T. Francis and R.A. Neil.
Notes: This is the Dabbhapuppha Jataka. For another story about an opportunistic third party, see: The Hawks and the Crows, and for an untrustworthy judge, see: The Partridge and the Rabbit.

(two otters)

And here is an illustration of the story by Ellsworth Young:

16. The Jackal and the Rams

Laura Gibbs · 16. The Jackal and the Rams

There was once a greedy jackal who was prowling around, looking for food.
He saw two angry rams fighting, running at each other and butting heads. The jackal noticed that each time the rams butted heads, blood dripped down on the ground.
"I bet that blood would be tasty!" thought the jackal.
So the jackal ran up and licked the blood off the ground.
"That is delicious," he thought. "I want to get every drop."
Foolish jackal! While he was licking the blood, the rams butted their heads together again, and the jackal was crushed to death between their horns.

Inspired by: The Panchatantra, translated by Arthur Ryder. It is in Book 1, Story 6.
Notes: In the Panchatantra this is an actual event that one of the characters in another story witnesses.

Here is an illustration from a 15th-century Panchatantra:

17. The Jackal and the Bullock

Laura Gibbs · 17. The Jackal and the Bullock

A jackal once noticed the big balls that dangled from a bullock's behind, and they made his mouth water.
"What a delicious meal those would make!" the jackal thought. "And his balls are so heavy and so big. Surely they will fall down soon!"
So the jackal began following the bullock everywhere, waiting for the balls to fall down.
But they didn't fall down.
"Such big balls!" the jackal thought. "Why don't they fall down?"
Ever hopeful, he kept following the bullock.
Finally, though, he gave up.
"You can keep your balls!" he shouted. "They probably wouldn't taste good anyway."

Inspired by: Tales and Parables of Sri Ramakrishna
Notes: This is story 7 in the book; it's also a story in the Panchatantra. I borrowed the idea for the final line from the traditional Aesop's fable about the fox and the grapes.

18. The Jackals and the Elephant

Laura Gibbs · 18. The Jackals and the Elephant

The jackals were stalking an especially large elephant, thinking that they could feast on him for days.
Finally the most cunning of the jackals went to the elephant and said, "O Great One, the animals met and elected you to be their king. I am to escort you to the coronation."
"I'm honored!" said the elephant happily.
The jackal then led the elephant into a swamp.
"Help!" shouted the elephant as he sank into the mud.
"Your courtiers are all coming to help you, Your Highness!" promised the jackal.
But the jackals did not help; instead, they devoured the elephant.

Inspired by: Hitopadesha, or, The Book of Good Counsel translated by B. Hale-Wortham
Notes: It is in Book 1, Story 9.

19. The Elephant and the Sparrow

Laura Gibbs · 19. The Elephant and the Sparrow

A raging elephant knocked down a sparrow's nest, killing her chicks.
The mother vowed revenge.
"Help me, Woodpecker!" she said.
"Agreed," said Woodpecker. "Help us, Gnat!"
"Agreed," said Gnat. "Help us, Frog!"
"Agreed," said Frog.
Then Frog told them all what to do.
Gnat buzzed in the elephant's ear; the music made him shut his eyes.
Then Woodpecker stabbed the elephant's eyes so he wanted to jump in the water for relief.
Meanwhile, Frog croaked at the edge of a pit; the elephant ran towards the sound, thinking it was a pond, and he fell in the pit and died.

Inspired by: The Panchatantra, translated by Arthur Ryder.
Notes: It is in Book 1, Story 2. This type of story is classified as ATU 210 Rooster, Hen, Duck, Pin, and Needle.