Folklore Weaver

On the banks of the Ganges, a monkey lived in a rose-apple tree. The rose-apples were delicious and plentiful. While he was eating them with obvious relish one day, a crocodile came out of the river, and the monkey threw down a few rose-apples and said, 'These are the best rose-apples in the world. They taste like nectar' The crocodile chomped on them and found them truly wonderful. The monkey and the crocodile became friends, and the crocodile took to visiting the monkey every day to eat the fruit of that wonderful tree and to talk in its shade. One day the crocodile went home and took some of the fruit to his wife. "These are wonderful. They taste like nectar. Where did you get them?' asked the wife. He said, 'From a tree on the banks of the Ganges.' 'But you can't climb the tree. Did you pick them up from the sands?" 'No, I've a new friend who lives in the tree, a monkey. He throws them down for me and we talk.' 'Oh, that's w...

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 ...

Once there lived a barber who was very idle. He would do no work and devoted his time to preening himself with an old mirror and a broken comb. His old mother rebuked him all day for this, but it didn't touch him. At last, one day in a fit of anger, she struck him with her broom. The young barber felt humiliated by this and left home, determined never to return till he had amassed some wealth. He walked far till he reached a forest and thought of praying to the gods for help. But as he entered the forest, he met with a brahmarakshasa , a demon, dancing wildly. He was terrified but he kept his wits about him. So he mustered all his courage and began to dance too, keeping time with the demon. After a while, he asked the demon, 'Why are you dancing? What has made you so happy? The demon laughed and said, 'I was waiting for your question because I knew you were a fool and didn't know the reason. It's simply because I want to feast on your delicate flesh. That's why....

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...

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...

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...

A poor widow lived with her two sons and two daughters-in-law. All four of them scolded and ill-treated her all day. She had no one to whom she could turn and tell her woes. As she kept all her woes to herself, she grew fatter and fatter. Her sons and daughters-in-law now found that a matter for ridicule. They mocked at her for growing fatter by the day and asked her to eat less. One day, when everyone in the house had gone out somewhere, she wandered away from home in sheer misery and found herself walking outside town. There she saw a deserted old house. It was in ruins and had no roof. She went in and suddenly felt lonelier and more miserable than ever; she found she couldn't bear to keep her miseries to herself any longer. She had to tell someone. So she told all her tales of grievance against her first son to the wall in front of her. As she finished, the wall collapsed under the weight of her woes and crashed to the ground in a heap. Her body grew lighter as well. Then she tu...

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 ...