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How a Boy Turned into a Monkey (A folklore from Nagaland)

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Once upon a time there was a boy in a village whose mother had died when he was young. After some time, the father married again in order to have a helpmate for himself a well as to provide a mother for his young son. But unfortunately for the little boy, the stepmother took an intense dislike to the boy from the very beginning and began to ill- treat him. She assigned him difficult chores hut gave him very little food, which was also inferior in quality. But most of this went unobserved by the father who was almost always away at his paddy field far away from home. And though, sometimes, he detected signs of unhappiness in his son, he soon forgot to ask his son because the woman was cunning and he was completely under her charm and domination. (The Ao-Naga tribe of Nagaland have always practised the shifting form of cultivation. According to the cycle, a farmer maintains two fields, the previous year's field where he grows mainly rice and the current year's field where, beside...
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The Tree-Spirit's Love (A folklore from Nagaland)

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A very long time ago, in a village in Nagaland, there lived a very beautiful girl, the only child of her parents who were very rich. As was the custom among the Ao-Naga tribe, when a girl reached puberty, she went to the girls' dormitory to spend the nights. It was in these dormitories that young men would come after night fall to court young ladies and in this way many young people would choose their life partners. This young and beautiful girl was also courted by many eligible young men of the village. But her eyes were fixed on a particular young man who was very handsome. As time passed, their friendship grew more and more intimate and he visited her every night and left before dawn. But during the day he was nowhere to be seen and all her efforts to locate him in the village were in vain. So in desperation she confided in her parents who thought deeply over the matter. The young man in the meantime continued to visit the girl as usual. One dawn, as advised by her father, when ...
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The Laughing Fish and the Clever Girl (A folklore from Kashmir)

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As a fisherwoman passed by the palace hawking her fish, the queen appeared at one of the windows and beckoned her to come near and show her what she had. At that moment a very big fish jumped about in the bottom of the basket. 'Is it a male or a female?' asked the queen. 'I'd like to buy a female fish.' On hearing this, the fish laughed aloud. 'It's a male,' replied the fisherwoman, and continued on her rounds. The queen returned to her room in a great rage. When the king came to see her that evening, he could tell that something was wrong. "What's the matter?' he asked. 'Are you not well?' 'I'm quite well, thank you. But I'm very much annoyed at the strange behavior of a fish. A woman showed me one today, and when I asked whether it was male or female, the fish laughed most rudely.' 'A fish laugh? Impossible! You must be dreaming.' 'I'm not a fool. I saw it with my own eyes and heard it laugh with my ...
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The Jasmine Prince's Laughter (A Tamil folklore)

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There was once a king who was called the Jasmine Prince because the scent of jasmines would waft from him for miles whenever he laughed. But for that to happen, he had to laugh naturally, all by himself. If someone else tickled him or forced him to laugh, there would be no scent of jasmines. The Jasmine Prince ruled a small kingdom and paid tribute to a king greater than himself, who had heard of this extraordinary power to produce the scent of jasmines by merely laughing. The great king wanted to see how it happened and to experience it himself, so he invited the Jasmine Prince to his court and asked him to laugh. But the prince couldn't laugh to order. He tried and tried, but he just couldn't bring himself to laugh. The great king was furious. 'He is defying orders. He is trying to insult us,' he thought, and clapped him in jail till he produced some laughter. Right in front of the prison house lived a cripple in a hut. The queen of the realm had fallen in love with t...
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The Earth-Measurer and Star-Counter (A folklore from Bengal)

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One day, the Nawab (Mughal Governor) sent word to Maharaja Krishnachandra (Hindu ruler that paid tribute to Mughals) that he wanted the whole earth measured, from side to side and from end to end, and that he would greatly appreciate it if the Maharaja would take it upon himself to count the stars in the sky as well. The Maharaja was astounded and said, 'I don't want to seem uncooperative, but you have commanded me to do the impossible.' And the Nawab said, 'But do it you will.' So the Maharaja fell into a brown study and brooded over how he might fulfill the demands of the Nawab. It was not long before Gopal Bhar passed by, and seeing the Maharaja in such a state of despair, he tugged gently at the ends of his mustache and said, 'Maharaj, what is this I see? If you have troubles, you need only tell your Gopal, and all will be well.' The king was not so easily consoled. He said, 'No, Gopal, this is a problem even you cannot solve. The Nawab has commanded...
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Raven and the Box of Daylight (A Tlingit Creation Story from the Pacific Northwest)

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Today I would like to share a story about how a clever and mischievous trickster figure felt that light must be brought to the world for the benefit of all. A tale that tells us that even in darkness, cleverness and compassion can bring light. Long ago, before the world knew light, everything was swallowed by darkness. There was no sun to warm the land, no moon to guide the night, and no stars to inspire wonder. The people lived in the pitch black, groping through life, never knowing that light even existed. But light did exist, locked away in a distant lodge by a powerful and selfish chief. He possessed three sacred boxes: one held the stars, another the moon, and the last, the mighty sun. These he kept hidden deep inside his home, hoarding them like treasures, refusing to share their beauty or warmth with the world. Watching from the shadows was Raven, a shapeshifter, a trickster, and a spirit being of immense intelligence. He was moved by the people's suffering. Though Raven oft...
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The King and the Shepherd’s Wisdom (A Santali-Indian folklore)

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A rich and powerful Raja (King) was convinced in his heart that no one in the world was as powerful as he was. But he told no one about it. One day he began to wonder whether others could guess what he was thinking. So he called together all his officers and servants and asked them to tell him what thought was in his heart. Many of them made guesses, but no one could satisfy the raja with his answer. For Then the raja ordered his dewan (minister) to find him someone who could guess his thought, and he gave the dewan exactly a month's time to find this genius. The dewan searched everywhere, but all in vain, and as the month was coming to a close he grew quite desperate. But he had a right man on the appointed day. The dewan said, 'All right, let's see what you can come up with, and gave over the job to his daughter. When the appointed day arrived, his daughter brought home a simpleton, a shepherd in their employ, and asked her father to take him to the raja. The dewan was ...
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