Drawing from not only the Qur’an and the traditions of Islamic spirituality, but also from mystical verse and folk tales, this collection of stories gathers traditional stories from the farthest reaches of the Muslim world. Includes explanatory notes. Illustrations.
Thanks to a quick-witted rabbit and a seaworthy turtle, an ill dragon king regains his desire to live. This is one of the most popular folktales in Korea.
This Korean version of Little Red Riding Hood is a pourquoi for the sun and moon creation. The boy and girl become the sun and the moon after the life-threatening tiger is killed. The tiger is as greedy as the wolf in western version of Little Red Riding Hood.
A stranger with a bamboo pole magically catches fish and hands them out to villagers, saying “One person, one fish,” but the king will not be content until he receives a whole basket of fish.
A poor Japanese woman maneuvers events to change the lazy habits of her son.
Once upon a time, in a small village in Korea, there lived a childless old couple. They worked hard and lived good, simple lives, wanting only a baby to love and care for. But their rich, greedy neighbor sneered at their patched-up clothes. And when he saw the old man chopping wood he’d taunt him: “Ha! Old Man, where is your son to help you?”
Then one day, a mysterious bluebird leads the old man to a magic spring that makes him young again. But that’s only half the magic, as the miraculous power of the spring brings justice to the greedy neighbor, and a child for the couple from the least likely place of all.
Two Japanese goblins with long, lovely noses decide to prove once and for all whose proboscis is the most beautiful.
In two original stories set in ancient China, Little Chiu masters the sword and Mu Chi escapes death through his marvelous painting.
A mole goes to the sky, sun, clouds, and wind in search of the most powerful husband for his daughter, only to find him among his own kind.
Tricked into freeing a hungry tiger from a trap, a man refuses to let the tiger eat him until they get another opinion on the situation from a disinterested party.