Tiny Tales: Traditional Stories in 100 Words: Islam: Folktales

Showing posts with label Islam: Folktales. Show all posts

The Oxen and the Logs

For the #RamadanReadathon at Twitter, I want to highlight some story collections that people might enjoy reading, featuring free full-text books online; here are all the books I've featured so far, including a 100-word story for each one too.

So, today's book is Turkish Literature: Fables translated by Epiphaneius Wilson. See details below, and here is a story from that collection:

The Oxen and the Logs

Two lazy oxen were pulling a log. They were going slowly, although the log was not very heavy.
"Hey, oxen!" shouted the log. "I'm not so heavy. Since you are such big, strong oxen, I would think you would gallop right along!"
"It's true you are not very heavy," said one of the oxen. "But if we were to go along any faster than this, the humans would add more logs to our load."
"And you would be probably be crushed beneath those other logs," said the other ox. "So really: we're doing this all for you!"

You can find a longer version of that story, and many other stories besides, in the online book, which is available at Internet Archive, Hathi Trust, and Google Books.
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Abraham and the Sheep

For the #RamadanReadathon at Twitter, I want to highlight some story collections that people might enjoy reading, featuring free full-text books online; here are all the books I've featured so far, including a 100-word story for each one too.

So, today's book is Tales Told in Palestine by J. E. Hanauer. See details below, and here is a story from that collection:

Abraham and the Sheep

Abraham was on the run from Nimrod. He asked a flock of goats to hide him, but they refused. Then Abraham saw a flock of sheep.
"Will you hide me?" he shouted.
"Yes!" said the sheep.
Abraham lay down on the ground and the sheep crowded all around. When Nimrod's soldiers arrived, they did not see him and so they continued on.
"Blessings upon you, sheep!" said Abraham, and Allah blessed the sheep with fat tails that hide their privates. Meanwhile, Allah cursed the goats so that they have short tails that stand up all the time exposing their shame.

(fat-tailed sheep)

You can find a longer version of that story, and many other stories besides, in the online book, which is available at the Internet Archive, Hathi Trust, and Google Books.

The Brave Mother-Parrot

For the #RamadanReadathon at Twitter, I want to highlight some story collections that people might enjoy reading, featuring free full-text books online; here are all the books I've featured so far, including a 100-word story for each one too.

So, today's book is The Tooti Nameh or Tales of a Parrot, by Ziya'al-Din Nakhshabi; the name of the translator is not given. See details below, and here is a story from that collection:

The Brave Mother-Parrot

A hunter cast his net over a parrot's nest.
"Play dead," said the parrot-mother. The chicks obeyed, and when the hunter cast them aside, they all flew away.
Enraged, he was going to kill the mother-bird when she said, "Don't kill me! I'm a skilled physician."
Impressed, the hunter took the parrot to the country's ailing king who paid him a fortune.
The parrot prescribed medicine for the king, and his health improved.
"Let me out of the cage and I'll finish the cure," said the parrot, and when the king opened the cage, she flew back to her chicks.

You can find a longer version of that story, and many other stories besides, in the online book, which is available at the Internet Archive, Hathi Books, and Google Books.

King Solomon's Ring

For the #RamadanReadathon at Twitter, I want to highlight some story collections that people might enjoy reading, featuring free full-text books online; here are all the books I've featured so far, including a 100-word story for each one too.

So, today's book is Ottoman Wonder Tales by Lucy M. Garnett. See details below, and here is a story from that collection:

King Solomon's Ring

The Djinn Ashmedai tempted King Solomon. "Give me your ring, and I'll make you ruler of the world." Solomon gave him the ring.
"Fool!" shouted Ashmedai; he then hurled Solomon onto a distant mountain, and hurled the ring into a distant sea. Next, Ashmedai transformed into Solomon's double and ruled in his stead.
Solomon wandered in poverty; no one believed he was king. He finally reached the sea. A fisherman pitied the beggar and gave him a fish. Inside the fish was the ring!
Solomon returned to Jerusalem and with the ring's power exposed Ashmedai and reclaimed his throne.

You can find a longer version of that story, and many other stories besides, in the online book, which is available at Internet Archive and Hathi Trust.

The Widow's Prayer and the Cow

For the #RamadanReadathon at Twitter, I want to highlight some story collections that people might enjoy reading, featuring free full-text books online; here are all the books I've featured so far, including a 100-word story for each one too.

So, today's book is Eastern Legends and Stories in English Verse by Norton Powlett. See details below, and here is a story from that collection:

The Widow's Prayer and the Cow

An elderly widow saw that her daughter's health was failing, so she prayed to God to take her life instead.
Meanwhile, as she was praying, a cow wandered into the kitchen and stuck her nose into a pot full of broth. The pot stuck to the cow's nose, which terrified the cow. Tossing her head this way and that, the cow ran wildly through the house.
When the old woman saw this monstrosity, she feared it was the Angel of Death in answer to her prayer. "Not me! Not me!" she screamed. "You want my daughter; that's her bedroom there!"

You can find a longer version of that story, and many other stories besides, in the online book, which is available at Internet Archive, Hathi Trust, and Google Books.

New Husband for an Old Woman

For the #RamadanReadathon at Twitter, I want to highlight some story collections that people might enjoy reading, featuring free full-text books online; here are all the books I've featured so far, including a 100-word story for each one too.

So, today's book is Speak Bird, Speak Again: Palestinian Arab Folktales by Ibrahim Muhawi and Sharif Kanaana. See details below, and here is a story from that collection:

New Husband for an Old Woman

An old widow was always cursing her son.
One day a salesman came by and said, "Your mother needs a husband."
"Yes, my son!" said his mother. "Get me a husband and you'll have Allah's blessing."
The salesman carried her away to a hyena's lair. "Your husband's coming soon," he said.
The hyena arrived but the old woman said, "Not so fast; wedding first!"
The hyena realized she must be blind. Every time he approached her, she said, "Not so fast; wedding first!"
Finally, the hyena ate her.
The son had been watching, and after that, he went back home.

You can find a longer version of that story, and many other stories besides, in the online book, which is available at the University of California Press E-Books Collection.

King Solomon and the Pigeon

For the #RamadanReadathon at Twitter, I want to highlight some story collections that people might enjoy reading, featuring free full-text books online; here are all the books I've featured so far, including a 100-word story for each one too.

So, today's book is Folklore of the Holy Land: Moslem, Christian and Jewish by J. E. Hanauer. See details below, and here is a story from that collection:

King Solomon and the Pigeon

King Solomon heard two pigeons outside his window.
"King Solomon is nothing! said the pigeon-husband. "I could flap my wings and knock down his palace!"
"Come here!" Solomon shouted. "What did you say?"
"Forgive me, King!" said the pigeon. "I was just boasting to impress my wife."
"Well, I forgive you," said the king laughing.
The bird flew back out, and his wife asked, "What did the king want?"
"He begged me not to knock down his palace!" boasted the pigeon.
Enraged, King Solomon turned both birds into stone, a warning that husbands should not be boastful to their wives.

You can find a longer version of that story, and many other stories besides, in the online book, which is available at Internet Archive, Sacred Texts, Hathi Books, and Google Books.

King Solomon and the Sparrow

For the #RamadanReadathon at Twitter, I want to highlight some story collections that people might enjoy reading, featuring free full-text books online; here are all the books I've featured so far, including a 100-word story for each one too.

So, today's book is The History of the Forty Vezirs translated from the Turkish by E. J. W. Gibb. See details below, and here is a story from that collection:

King Solomon and the Sparrow

"Where is my charming little Sparrow?" asked King Solomon. "Simurgh, go to Sparrow's house and bring him here."
Meanwhile, Sparrow was boasting to his wife. "I come and I go as I please," he chirped. "No one is the boss of me!"
At that moment Simurgh arrived. "King Solomon summons you to court, Sparrow!"
But the little bird just scoffed. "Begone, Simurgh, or I will kick you! I'll kick Solomon's palace and it will fall to the ground!"
Simurgh flew back to Solomon and reported Sparrow's words.
Solomon smiled. "Even little Sparrow likes to impress his wife with mighty words."

You can find a longer version of that story, and many other stories besides, in the online book, which is available at Internet Archive, Hathi Trust, and Google Books. Plus you can find out more about the mythical bird named Simurgh at Wikipedia. Here is a 16th-century illustration for the Shahnama showing the Simurgh

The Story of the Wolf-Bride

For the #RamadanReadathon at Twitter, I want to highlight some story collections that people might enjoy reading, featuring free full-text books online; here are all the books I've featured so far, including a 100-word story for each one too.

So, today's book is Persian Tales translated by D.L.R. Lorimer and E.O. Lorimer. See details below, and here is a story from that collection:

The Story of the Wolf-Bride

"A wolf will tear this baby to pieces," said the fortune-teller, so the boy's parents kept him hidden in an underground chamber.
When the time came for him to marry, his parents found him a bride. They celebrated the wedding, and then they led the bride underground.
After they closed the door, the bride became a wolf and devoured the boy.
She then turned back into a woman, and the parents found her there in the morning.
"I became a wolf," she said. "I don't know why."
The mother wept, and the father said, "What fate wills, we cannot escape."

You can find a longer version of that story, and many other stories besides, in the online book, which is available at Internet Archive, Hathi Books, and Google Books.

The Men and the Oxen

For the #RamadanReadathon at Twitter, I want to highlight some story collections that people might enjoy reading, featuring free full-text books online; here are all the books I've featured so far, including a 100-word story for each one too.

So, today's book is The Folklore of Palestine by Barbara M. Bowen. See details below, and here is a story from that collection:

The Men and the Oxen

Mohammed walked by a field where men were plowing in winter. "Peace to you," he said. The men did not answer, but the oxen answered, "And peace to you." Mohammed blessed the oxen. "May Allah make your nights long!" That is why in winter, nights are long, and the oxen can sleep.
In summer, Mohammed passed the same field where men were planting. "Peace to you," he said. No one answered. Mohammed cursed the men. "May Allah make your days long!" That is why in summer, days are long, and the men must work hard with little time to sleep.

You can find a longer version of that story, and many other stories besides, in the online book, which is available at Hathi Trust.

The Language of Birds

For the #RamadanReadathon at Twitter, I want to highlight some story collections, like the Nasruddin books I wrote about last time, that people might enjoy reading, featuring free full-text books online. I'll also choose out one story to tell as a 100-word story too.

So, today's book is Told in the Coffee House: Turkish Tales by Cyrus Adler and Allan Ramsay, which is also available as an audiobook. See details below, and here is a story from that collection:

The Language of Birds

A young man begged a wise man to teach him the language of birds.
Thus he learned his horse would die, so he sold the horse.
Then he learned his house would catch fire, so he sold the house.
Then he learned that he was going to die.
The young man ran to the wise man for help. "What shall I do?" he begged.
"You shouldn't have listened to the birds," the wise man replied. "If you endured the loss of your horse, your house wouldn't have burned, and you wouldn't be about to die. It's better not to know."

You can find a longer version of that story, and many other stories besides, in the online book, which is available at Project Gutenberg, Internet Archive, Hathi Trust, and Google Books. You can get a free Kindle ebook from Amazon, and there's a free audiobook from LibriVox.