The Gnome and the Little Tortoise

Thunderbolt, the gnome, was the best messenger in the land. He could carry messages, letters of packages from one place to another so quickly that he earned many rewards. But still he was not content, because he had no son to inherit his position.

One day, another gnome gave him a box to a witch, but as soon as he set off, Thunderbolt heard a voice from the box, begging him to open the lid. Inside was tiny prince, made small by an evil spell. Thunderbolt would have really liked to help the prince, but he did not know the magic words which would open the box, so he had no choice but to deliver the box to the witch. Then he picked up the receipt, and took it back to the gnome who was really very angry, because he knew that Thunderbolt with a pigeon's egg, from which he said, a child would be born. Thunderbolt was delighted, and persuaded a a pigeon to sit on the egg. Then he waited, but when the egg finally hatched, out came, not a child as promised, but a a tortoise. Nevertheless, Thunderbolt decided to keep the little creature, and he loved it like a son.

Contrary to appearance, little Tortoise was very fast, so much so that he could travel long distances, in order to pass on a manager, and be back in a few minutes. People would come from all over the world to marvel at him. Then, one day, along came a richly dressed man who, to the amazement of Thunderbolt, suddenly struck little Tortoise with a hammer blow so hard that it broke the shell. Out came a handsome young gnome.

Then it was revealed that the rich man was none other than the tiny prince in the box. He had been released from the evil spell, and had come back to reward Thunderbolt by granting him his dearest wish, for a son. SO everyone lived happily ever after.

The Geese Who Kept Guard

I ancient Rome, at one time the people were so complacent that they sent their army to fight far away, and left the city itself without defences. Then an invading army of barbarians, called Gauls, attacked the city and captured it. Only a few young men retreated to the rock of the Capitol, where the treasures of the city had been taken, and there they prepared to defend it, until the return of the Roman army.

Many times, the Gauls tried to climb the steep sides of the rock, but they were always driven back and they had to content themselves with laying siege to the Capitol. But, in the end, they found a secret path up the side of the hill, and decided to attack by night.

It was so dark that the Roman sentries did not see them, but the alarm was raised by the geese on the Capitol, which were kept there for sacrificing to the gods. The geese heard the Gauls and began to honk loudly. The Romans awoke, seized their arms, and replied the attack.

Later, when Rome was saved by the returning army, it was decided that the geese should never again be scarified to the gods, in recognition of their services as sentries on the Capitol.

Why Beans Have a Split in the Middle

A woman, who was preparing a pot of soup, dropped on the floor a bean, a piece of red hot coal and a piece of the straw she had used to light the fire, These three things were all glad to have escaped, and they decided to run away, before they were picked up again and thrown in the fire.

As they ran down the path, they found a small stream in their way. The piece of a small stream in their way. The piece of straw generously offered to lie down and make a bridge from one side to the other, so that its companions could cross over.

The bean and the coal were very grateful, but the coal, who went first, reached the middle of the bridge, looked down and became so frightened that it stopped. Then, because the coal was still lot, it set fire to the straw, and both fell into the water and were carried away. All this made the been laugh so much that it split its sides. Luckily, a passing tailor found it, and sewed it back together again. And from that day on, all the beans in the world still carry the scar down their backs.

The Spirit in the Bottle

A young student walking in the woods, when he heard a small voice calling to him. He looked all around, but could not see anyone, The voice called out again, and appeared to come from the roots of an enormous oak tree. There the student found a bottle, in which there was a tiny man, who begged him, 'Let me out.'

So the student removed the cork, and a cloud of smoke emerged and grew into a frightening giant.

'I am a genie,' said the giant, 'and I was imprisoned in the bottle by a magnician. But now that I am freed, prepare to meet your end!'

'Wait a minute,' said the young man. 'I don't believe one word you have said. A giant your size could not have really come out of that little bottle. You could never get into it.'

'Of course I can,' said the genie. 'I'll prove it to you,' But as soon as the genie returned to the bottle, the young man put the cork back in. The next time, in order to get free, the spirit had to make a bargain with the student not only would it refrain from killing him, but it had also to give him a dagger which turned to gold everything it touched, and healed all wounds. And afterwards, thanks to that magic dagger, the student became a rich and famous doctor.

The Generous Camel

At the beginning of time, in a large Arabian city called Tamul, the earth began to have and tremble until eventually a huge camel burst forth from it. From the camel burst forth from it. From the camel's head to its tail was over seven hundred paces, and it was as tall as the nearby hills.

Before the people could get over their surprise, this giant camel gave birth to a baby camel. Then the two of them went off together into the mountains.

Thereafter, the great camel would come down into the city every morning to give its milk to whoever wanted it, so nobody was hungry any more. But the great camel itself needed a lot of water to drink, and as Tamul did not have enough water for everyone, the inhabitants decided that they themselves could only use the wells on alternate days., Thanks to this, everybody had enough to eat and drink.

But the miraculous camel was not popular with the owners of goats, because nobody would buy goats' milk any more. And the owners of gardens no longer had enough water for their lawns. So these tow groups joined forces and chased the giant camel away.

From then on, in Tamul, only a few people had milk and flowers, while all the others suffered hunger and thirst.

The Frog and the Ox

A frog decided that it wanted to become as bi as an ox.

So it began to breathe, in, and in, and every time it swallowed more air, it did in fact become bigger.

But it soon began to tire of its efforts.

'Am I big enough yet?' it asked hopefully of its many watching companions.

Then they had another look at the ox and shook their heads, 'No, a bit more.'

So the ambitious frog kept on puffing itself up and up....until it burst like a balloon!

The Crystal Castle

A prince and a princess were very much in love, and had already exchanged betrothal rings, when a jealous magician kidnapped the girl. For many years, the desperate young man wandered about the land in search of his beloved. Finally, he found that she was being kept prisoner in a castle with high crystal walls that were so smooth that even a fly could not climb them.

No matter how hard he tried, the prince could not think of a way in. Then one day, in the woods nearby, he heard some cries for help. There he found three hideous old witches who had wandered into a swamp.

'Good riddance,' thought the prince, but then, because the cries were so pitiful, he relented, and rescued them from the swamp. In gratitude, the witches gave him three gifts; a sick which could open any door, a horse that could fly, and a cloak which would make the wearer invisible. With these gifts, the prince was at last able to release the princess was at last able to release the princess from the crystal castle. Invisible in the cloak, he flew on the horse to the topmost tower, and with the stick opened the door to her prison. And soon after, they were married and the three witches were welcome guests at the feast.

Catherine and the Cheeses

Catherine the farm girl was so simple and naive that she was always getting into trouble. One day, she was taking the cheeses to market, when one fell out of her basket and rolled off down the hill.

'I really don't feel like chasing after it,' she thought. 'I'll send someone else to get it back.'

So she rolled another cheese off after the first. She waited and waited, but neither of the cheeses came back. 'Perhaps they want company,' thought Catherine, and sent off a third cheese. When none of them came back, she thought that perhaps the third cheese had gone the wrong way, and so she sent sent a fourth to look for it. She then set off the fifth cheese, and the sixth, and the seventh, until eventually her basket was empty.

For a while, she waited patiently but then she grew annoyed. "If you cheese think I can be bothered wasting time waiting for you, you're wrong. I'm going ahead without you, and you can just run along behind me. That'll teach you to be so disobedient.'

So she arrive at the market empty handed, and her husband shouted at her. 'Why are you getting angry?' said Catherine. 'In just a few minuted those cheeses will be along, you'll see!'

The Cat and the Hens

A cat had heard that all the hens in a chicken coop had fallen ill. He had been thinking for a long time of a way to get the door open, and at last this seemed lika a very good opportunity.

He dressed up as a doctor, with a bag full of instruments and medicines, and off he went to the chicken coop.

'Good day, hens, how are you feeling? I've come to give you a check up. Please open the door.'

But the chickens all answered together. 'Thanks very much, but we'll at feel a lot better if you would just go away, thank you.'

The Magic Table

A good-natured and industrious young man worked for a magician, who gave him a magic table as a payment. All he had to say was, 'Set yourself,' and everything he needed for a meal would appear on it. Thanks to this fit, the young man thought that he would not want for anything again for the rest of his life, and so he decided to return home, and so he decided to return home, to his father.

On the way, he stopped in a tavern for a meal and a night's sleep. The owner had no food left because he already had a large number of guests, so he told the young man he would have to make do with a crust of bread. It doesn't matter,' the young man said, not at all worried. 'I'll take care of the rest myself.' Then the magic table provided so much food, that all the others there were able to eat their fill as well. After that, the landlord decided that he could make good use of a table like that. He stole it and replaced it with one that looked the same, so that the young man did not notice. But the magic turned out to be with the young man who owned the table, not with the table itself. So the new table continued to provide the young man with all the food he needed, and when the landlord of the tavern tried to give orders to the table he had stolen, a stick appeared and give him a good thrashing!

The Sick Lion and the Prudent Fox

The lion was old and tired and realised that, if he still wanted to get enough to eat, he would have to resort more to cunning and less to force. So he pretended to be sick and retired to his den. Then, every time that one of his subjects came by, the lion would reach out with his paw, grab the visitor and eat him.

It came to the fox's turn, but the fox remained at the entrance.

'Do come in, fox!' said the lion cordially. 'Thank you, but I'd really rather not,' the fox replied. 'Although I can see so many footprints going in, I cannot see one which comes out!'

He Told No Lies

A farmer had a younger brother, who had the bad luck to be in love with the daughter of a duke. Her father was so mean that he would never agree to give her hand in marriage to anyone who was not rich. The elder brother therefore decided to do something to help the younger one.

First, he made his brother put on his oldest suit, which was patched with dozens of pieces of cloth. Then he got him to sit beside the fireplace, where the roof was sound. Then he put a bowl on his lap, and gave him two gold coins which he was to pass from one hand to the other, then into the bowl, then round again. Then he went to see the duke.

'How is your brother off for money?' the miserly father asked.

'I can honestly say that money is passing through his hands all the time?'

'What's the state of his house?'

'He has a sound roof over his dead.'

'Ah! So he is rich and has his own house!' exclaimed the duke. 'And what about his wardrobe?'

Said the older brother: 'He has far more pieces of cloth to wear than I have.

The miser was most impressed, not realising that he had not had a direct answer to any of his questions.

In his way, without telling a single lie, the wedding was quickly arranged.

The Cossack and the Witch

A valiant cossack came across some splendid apples on a tree, but they were enchanted and had been placed there by a witch in order to capture men. In fact, the cossack had scarcely touched one of the apples with when the witch appeared.

'I will give you a chance to save yourself,' she said. 'You must hide and I must try to find you. If you are clever enough to remain hidden for ten hours, then I shall marry you; if not, then you will be my slave!'

Now the cossack was very good friends with a fairy who changed herself into a great eagle and told the cossack to leap up onto its shoulders.

'I will carry you so high up that the witch will never be able to see you'.

Unfortunately, the witch had a magic book which told her everything, No sooner had she asked the book than she learnt exactly where the cossack was hiding. 'Come down out of the sky at once!' she screamed.

The friendly fairy then transformed the cossack into a needle, with which she sewed the pages of the witch's book together. The witch, thus, lost the challenge and had to keep her promise to marry the cossack. But she reformed completely and the two lived long and happily together.

The Stag and the Lion

A stag was immensely proud of his majestic set of antlers. Yet, on the other hand, he was extremely dissatisfied with his slender legs and hoofs.

One day a lion began to chosen him. By virtue of his speed, the stag succeeded in fleeing from the lion, but then he ran into a thicket and his antlers caught in the branches and he was trapped.

'Alas and woe is me!' thought the stag. 'How wrong I was to complain about my slender legs and delicate hoofs which have served me so well. How wrong I was to be so proud of my large antlers which are now the cause of my ruin!'

The Magicians' War

The Wizard of Ah had declared war on the Wizard of Oh. Oh changed himself into a wild horse and galloped away. Ah observed his escape and changed himself in his turn into a hare which ran off in pursuit. Just as Ah was about to catch up, Oh changed again into a wolf and threw himself on the hare. Ah would have been torn to pieces had he not changed into a bear, then Oh transformed himself into a lion.

To escape the wild fury of the lion, Ah became a swan and flew away. He realised that Oh was chasing him in the form of a falcon, and threw himself into the sea, where he took the form of a fish. Oh, who had now become a shark, was about to eat him in a single mouthful, when Ah succeeded in reaching shore just at the spot where the princess was about to pick up, when Oh appeared beside her in the form of a gold ring. She had just placed the ring on her finger, when a merchant, who was really Ah, arrived and bought the ring from the princess. the ring shattered into grains of wheat which fell to the ground. The merchant became a hen which gobbled up the grains, but one grain remained hidden and it now changed into a handsome prince, who, of course, married the princess.

The Casket with Something Good Inside

A young boy found an old casket while he was wandering about the woods. He was very excited and tired to guess what it contained. 'Golden coins? Jewels? Maps to guide me to fantastic treasures?'

The casket, however, was locked and the boy had nothing with which to pen it. Even more curious, he went out of his way to pass the hut of an old man who had a reputation as a fortune teller. The old man inspected the casket, felt if, smelt it, and finally said to the boy; 'There is something good inside.'

'What is it? Gold? Jewels?'

'Something good,' the old man repeated. 'More than this I cannot tell you.'

The young man was now sure that he had some great treasure in his possession and he felt more and more impatient. 'Something good,' he repeated again and again to himself. 'It must certainly be something of enormous value if the old man said that to me.'

Unable to control himself or to wait till he got home, the boy picked up a stone and began to bash at the lid until the casket finally broke open. Inside there was a liquorice root, but, unfortunately, because of the bashing he had given the casket, it too was broken.

The Golden Clog

The shouts of the shoeseller, going up and down the street with his donkey, laden with shoes and clogs for sale, had begun to annoy the townspeople. Wishing to be left in peace, they decided to buy all his goods. But once they had agreed a price per pair, the people noticed that the more clogs they bought and piled up in the street, the more full seemed to be the baskets of clogs on the wagon. There was no doubt that there was witchcraft at work. A great argument broke up.

At that very moment, the king passed by in his carriage. The towns people asked for his judgement, but the shoemaker made a gift of a golden clog to the little prince, who was with his father, and the king decided that no crime had been committed. As he announced this, the mysterious shoeseller disappeared.

Very soon after it was discovered that the golden clog was bewitched. Not only could nobody get it off, but the clog also grew little by little along with he prince's foot. Therefore it never caused him any paint at all.

Years later, the king chose a girl to be a wife for his son. Hardly had the marriage been celebrated when the golden clog began to hurt the prince. It only ceased to hurt him when his marriage was annulled. The king went to the court magician for advice, and learnt that his son would only be able to make a happy marriage to the girl who was able to make the golden clog from his foot. The princess of nearby kingdoms were the first to try, followed by all the duchesses, countesses, and common people in the land until there only remained a dirty scullery-maid! At that moment the shoeseller's cry was heard from the street and the girl, was changed at once into the most gentle and lovable princess. So, the king was content and the young prince and princess lived happily ever after.

The Fountain of Youth

On one of the islands of Japan there one lived an old woodsman with his equally elderly wife. Yoshida and Fumi, for these were their names, were happy with the long life they had lived together, but they knew that the day would come when death would separate even them and this was the only thing that made them sad.

One day, Yoshida went off into the forest, but everything had changed with the passing of years and the old woodsman lost his way. He found a spring and drank a few drops of water. He realised then that he had become suddenly as young and healthy again as he had been when he was twenty years old! He had discovered the legendary fountain of youth.

He ran home and his wife almost failed to recognise him. When. however, Fumi, learnt what had happened, she set off at once.

When a few hours had passed and still Fumi had not returned, Yoshida began to grow worried. He went back to the fountain and found there a baby girl who could not even walk! But Yoshida knew what to do; he took the baby in his arms, and, because of his great love for her, from that day on he acted as her father and they continued to live happily together for many more years.

Rita's Chicken

Rita was a good cook. One day, her master ordered her to prepare a roast chicken, because he was having a guest to dinner. The girl did her best and roasted the chicken so well that your mouth watered just to look at it; and in fact, her mouth really did water.

'I must just taste it and make sure that I've added enough salt,' she said to herself and broke off a wing and ate it. 'It's absolutely delicious!' she congratulated herself: 'But if I leave only one wing, then the master will be bound to notice that one is missing. It would be better if I ate the other wing as well.' By the time she had practiced some more of this logic, there was nothing left of the chicken when the master returned. Rita, however, assured him: 'The chicken is ready. You can even begin to sharpen the carving knife.'

The guest arrived shortly after. 'Run away! Quickly!' Rita whispered to him. 'My master only invited you here in order to kill you. Can you not hear him sharpening his knife?' The guest did not wait to be told again but fled immediately as fast as he could.

'That was a strange person you invited for dinner!' she immediately went and complained to her master. 'Your guest came in, stole the chicken I had cooked, and then ran away!'

The Bags Full of Faults

According to a Greek legend, when men were created, the great god Zeus gave each one a gift of two bags. One bag was full of man's own faults, the other full of everybody else's faults. But when the moment came for Zeus to give man his two bags, each one hanging at the opposite end of a carrying pole, by mistake he put the bag with the defects of everybody else in the front, whilst the bag with each man's own defects finished up behind his back.

It is perhaps for this reason that it is so easy to see other people's faults and so difficult to see our own!

The Lion and His Partners

The goat, the sheep and the cow went into business with the lion and, just as in every company, it was agreed that costs and profits would be divided equally. It happened that they trapped a deer and held a shareholders, meeting in order to apportion it out. In fact, the lion was most meticulous about dividing the catch into four equal parts. 'I shall take the first share,' he said, 'because it is my right to do so. Being King of the Forest, I shall also take the second, and also the third, because Im the strongest. Should you lay claim to the rest, then I shall make a meal of you as well!'

The Ice-Cream Cart

There was once a little girl and her mother who were so poor that often they could not even afford to buy bread. When the ice-cream cart passed, the little girl would watch with yearning, not greed, in her eyes, the other children licking their huge cones. The Ice-cream seller noticed this and felt so sorry for her that he gave her his entire cart as a present.

'What will happen when all the ice-cream is finished?' asked the little girl. 'This is a magic cart,' the ice-cream vendor reassured her, 'and it makes ice-cream all by itself. You only have to tell it what kind and then, when the containers are full, you must remember to say, ''Enough now''.'

From that day onwards, the little girl and her mother had as much ice-cream as they wanted. One day, however, while the little girl was away, her mother wanted something to eat. 'Chocolate and nut,' she ordered, and the cart immediately began to produce ice-cream. It made so much that floods of ice-cream began to pour out. The poor woman did not know how to make it stop. Soon the whole town was buried and, when the little girl returned, the ice-cream was already as high as the roof-tops and people coming into the town had to lick for themselves a path through it.

The Father and His Daughters

A man once had two daughters, one of whom had married a poor farmer, the other a potter. The father went to visit each of them and asked; 'How is business going?'

'Very well,' replied the first daughter, 'but we could use more water to irrigate the land. We pray every night the God will send us rain!' When he asked the second daughter, she replied: 'Business is going well, but we pray to God for dry weather to harden our posts!' 'And what should I pray for?' exclaimed the father, 'if one daughter wants one thing, and the other the opposite?'

The Faithful Horse and the Fox

An Arab once had a horse that had served him faithfully for years, but was now very old and thus no longer wanted. 'Go away!' the master told the horse. 'When you return as strong as a lion, you'll find the stable door open for for your again!'

So the poor horse had to leave. On the road he met a fox. to whom the horse told his story. The fox consoled him at once: 'Have courage, dear horse! Lie down here on the road and pretend to be dead. Then just leave everything to me!'

The fox then ran off to the den of a large lion. 'There's a dead horse on the road!' he exclaimed. 'You should go and get it!' 'Fine,' said the lion, 'but how will I drag it back here? It will weigh too much!'

'Don't worry, my friend,' replied the fox. 'I will tie the horse to your tail!'

The lion agreed to this plan, and when they reached the horse the fox tied it tightly to the lion's tail. As soon as the last knot

The lion agreed to this plan, and when they reached the horse the fox tied it tightly to the lion's tail. As soon as the last knot was tied, the fox shouted, 'Hup! Home!' to the horse.

The horse leapt to his feet and ran home to his master, dragging the enraged and struggling lion behind him. 'When the Arab saw the two animals, he said, 'Well, my old friend, you really are stronger than a lion. From now on. I'll look after you until the day you die!'

The Great Kotei and the Golden Eagle

Kotei was the greatest emperor in ancient Japan. He defeated all his enemies and conquered vast territories. Amongst other things., or so the legends tell us, it was Kotei who invented the compass and also sailing boats in order to achieve his amazing conquests.

Moreover, he also know how to rule with wisdom and justice, and did so well that the Japanese people have never been so rich and happy as they were then.

One day, the emperor, who was by this time a very old man, was in the park, walking slowly with the aid of his walking stick. All of a sudden, an eagle flew down towards him. It shone as if it was made of gold, as it circled slowly to the ground and landed right at Kotei's feet.

'Messenger from the sky,' asked the wise emperor, 'have you come to tell me that my life is ended?'

The eagle nodded its great head in assent, so the emperor said farewell to his family, who wept many treas and hugged his knees. Then Kotei climbed onto the back of the eagle, which spread it winds and flew off into the sky, where it soon dwindled to a tiny speck in the brilliant rays of the sun.

The Indians with Black Feet

A long, long time ago, an American Indian had a strange dream. He dreamt that he went to the edge of the great northern forest and there he found such abundant wildlife that not even a hundred generations of hunters would suffice to kill it all.

Following the message in his dream (for, like all Indians, he considered a dream to be a sign of divine guidance), he gathered his family together and set out. On the prairies, the Indian encountered immense hordes of bison, but these great beasts were so fast that not one of his family could get close enough to kill one.

Disappointed, the Indian prayed for along time before falling asleep. In his dreams he had a new vision; he had to find a certain magic plant and rub it onto the feet of his vision and, to his surprise, the feet of the little boy turned back; so much so that his father decided to call him 'Siksika', which means 'Black Feet'.

And the magic plant had a further effect: Siksika became such a fast runner that he was able to catch the bison.

From Siksika was born the great nation of the Blackfeet, who, from that moment of this time, tint their moccasins black and more known everywhere as great hunters.

Reynald and the Fox and the Cockerel

Reynard, the famous red fox, was lucky one day. He found a hole in the fence and got through into the hen coop and caught a cockerel by surprise. He would have got clean away except that all hens began to cluck with fear and the farmer's wife heard the racket and sounded the alarm.

The farmer set off in pursuit at once with his men and his dogs. And, while the men shouted the worst insults imaginable at the thief, what the dogs were barking was scarcely more complimentary.

'What kind of fox are you?' asked the clever cockerel. 'You let them call you all these names and you haven't even got the pride to answer them?'

Reynard, his self respect in question, turned to shout at his pursuers: 'You blockheads! You great snails! You'll never catch me!'

As he opened his mouth to shout the first word, the cockerel fled from his jaws and flew into a tall tree.

'You are the blockhead!' the cockerel crowed, raising its crest. 'Catch me now, if you can.'

Reynard, however, had enough on his plate without trying to recapture the cockerel. He forgot all about him and ran off at once; and he did not stop until he was safe in his den.

The Oak and the Sugar Cane

The oak, whch was very proud of itself, showed a great deal of sympathy for the sugar cane. 'What a sad lot is yours! A breath of wind is sufficient to make you bow your head. On the other hand, I stand up straight and tall in the strongest gale!'

'Yes, but,' the sugar cane objected, 'although the wind can make me bend, it can never break me.'

A furious storm then broke out. When it had passed over, behold there was the oak lying on the gound with its roots in the air, while, little by little, the sugar cane straightened itself up, as strong as ever before.

The Dancing Teapot

Once upon a time, a ragman found a badger caught in a trap. He took pity on the animal and set it free. Now this badger had magic powers and thought for a long time about how to repay the man. Finally the badger turned itself into a beautiful teapot and slipped itself into the ragam's bag.

When the ragman found the teapot, he was very puzzled as to how it had got into the sack. He decided to take it at once to the priests in the temple as a gift, so that they might always remember him in their prayers.

When, however, one of the priests put the teapot on the fire to boil some water, he heard it cry out. He immediately began to shout in terror: 'The teapot is possessed!'

The other priests came running, but the teapot seemed to be boiling away in the normal fashion. However, the priest insisted on calling the ragman back and returning his teapot to him.

The night, the kindly ragman was awakened by a tiny voice. When he looked around, he saw that the teapot now had the head, the tail and the paws of a badger.

'Take me to the market,' the teapot said to him, 'and I will dance for you and make you a rich man.'

And thus it was. To see something that was half badger and half teapot, that danced by itself. was such an extraordinary sight, that people were willing to pay to witness it.

The ragman became so rich in this way that in a short while he had enough money to last him a lifetime. After this, instead of going on to make even more money, the regman decided that the least he could do for the teapot, to whom he owed so much, was to allow it to rest.

So that the teapot might for not fall into the hands of some more greedy person, he took it back to the temple where the priests again agreed to look after it.

From that day, a thousand years have passed, but the teapot is still in the temple where it basks in the rays of the sun through the windows.

The Fox and the Crow

One day a fox came across a crow who was perched on a branch with a piece of cheese in its beak. Immediately, the fox began to consider how he might obtain if for himself.

'You have everything, strength, beauty, eisdom!' he said flatteringly to the bird. 'If you only had a beautiful voice, then you would be perfect.'

Not wishing the fox to think that it did not have a fine voice, the crow began to sing. Of course the piece of cheese fell from its beak and the fox claimed it at once. 'Your most serious problem,' laughed the fox, 'is that you have more vanity than intelligence!'

The Mark of Wisdom

In the forests of Africa there once lied a very clever rabbit who wished to become even more wise. So he went to ask for help from a witch.

'Bring me a live python,' the witch told him, 'and then we shall see.'

So the rabbit cut a long branch from a tree and went to the python's lair, where the snake was curled up. The rabbit showed it the branch. 'You are always boasting about your size,' said the rabbit, 'but this branch is longer than you.' 'Don't talk rubbish,' said the python. 'Very well then, prove it, let me see which of you is longer.'

The python stretched itself out alongside the branch, whereupon the rabbit lost no time in lying the snake to it. 'Well done, indeed,' the witch praised him. 'Now you must bring me a swarm of bees.' So the rabbit emptied a pumpkin, put some honey inside, and hung it up near a beehive. When the bees had gone inside the pumpkin, the rabbit closed up the little hole he had made and carried the pumpkin full of bees to the witch. When the witch saw that the rabbit had succeeded in the second test as well, she rubbed a little magic ointment between his ears and a small white spot appeared. The rabbits of Africa still have this little spot and it is considered a mark of wisdom.

The Story of King Prudence

There was once a king who was so cautions and different that he was known as Prudence. Since he did not trust horses, he went everywhere on foot, until, finally, his escorts grew tired of the long walks and asked a magician to invent some kind of seat that moved by itself.

Two days later the new invention was ready. 'It is called a bicycle,' the magician informed them.

A minister was then required to demonstrate to the king how the bicycle worked, unfortunately, he fell off and broke his arm. When he had recovered a little he went back to the magician and said: 'We need something safer than a seat; an entire carriage would be better'.

A whole week was needed before the new invention was ready and it was called an automobile. During the first test drive, however, the unlucky minister crashed into a tree.

After this, King Prudence continued to travel everywhere on foot, until the day he tripped, fell and broke his leg. Then he understood that he had been wrong to blame the bicycle and the automobile for accidents that were really due solely to the imprudence of men. He himself then went at once to the magician and ordered carriages without horses for himself and everyone else at court.

The Magic Veil

A young farmer lived an impoverished existence in his little hut, but he never complained because the beauty of nature was more precious to his sensitive soul than any wealth.

One day his attention was caught by a lovely smell coming from the woods. He followed the sweet fragrance with until he reached a pine tree and saw, caught in the branches, an unbelievably beautiful veil, woven from rays of sunshine, beams of moonlight, and studded all over with stars. The young man had just disentangled the veil from the tree, when there appeared a young maiden who asked for it back. At first the young man refused, at which the unknown girl burst into tears.

'I am a nymph,' she explained, 'and without my veil I will never again be able to rejoin my sisters.'

"If you really are a nymph, then you can prove it,' said the young man, 'by dancing for me as only nymphs know how to dance.' So the maiden began to dance in mid-air, her veil flying round and round the farmer, and from the veil there fell thousands and thousands of flowers.

Later, the farmer never could tell if he had dreamt it all, or if it had really happened, but from that day on the young man rejoiced even more in the beauty of nature.

Ivan the Brave and the Water Life

An old tsar heard tell of a princess from whose finger came drops of water with the power to restore youth. So the tsar sent his elder son to look for her.

The young man reached the edge of the world, but there learned that he still had to cross three bridges. The toll for the first bridge was one of his arms, for the second a leg, and for the third his head. The discouraged prince gave up the venture and returned home.

The younger son, Ivan, was then sent out on the quest, and he too went to the edge of the world. At the first bridge, instead of paying the toll of an arm he used arm to defeat the guards; at the second bridge, he made use of both his legs to run across before the guards could catch him; and at the third bridge, he used his head to find a way to sneak across.

He went on until he reached a golden castle. In it there was a beautiful, sleeping girl. From her finger dripped the water of life. Ivan began to collect it in his flask, when the maiden awoke and caused him to fall unconscious to the ground. But when she looked closely at Ivan and saw how handsome he was, she roused him again, and, together, the young couple returned to the tsar with the water of life. Naturally, then they were wed.

The Artist and His Rival

A famous artist was commissioned by the ruler of a powerful city to paint frescoes on the walls of his palace. Scaffolding was put in place and the artist began to paint. The next morning he discovered that his painting had been scrawled on and covered with splashes of paint.

The artist was furious, thinking that one of his rivals had done it. To find the culprit, the prince ordered the guards to hide in the room, so they could surprise the vandal, if he returned, and teach him a lesson. The guilty party was caught in the act, and turned out to be the prince's pet monkey. It had watched the artist at work and tried to imitate him.

The monkey was put back in its cage until the painting was finished. When it was released and saw the painting, the monkey pulled a face, as if so say, 'I could have done it better.'

'Now you really are behaving like a true painter,' laughed the prince. 'It is well-known that artists do not have the gift of modesty, and they all think their own work is a masterpiece and other artists' work is rubbish.'

Figeater's Money Bag

They called him Figeater because he loved eating figs so much, but nobody knew his real name or where he had come from. The young man was a natural clown and his antics made everyone laugh, so everybody liked him and he considered himself happy.

One day, Figeater found an old money bag on which was embroidered the phrase: 'Ask and you shall receive.' It was a magic money bag and, indeed, it was enough to ask, for any wish to be granted. The young man tried out the bag by asking for small amounts of money, and then for a few golden coins. As his own needs were small, Figeater gave away to others everything he received; but his sudden wealth caused his fellow villagers to grow suspicious. They accused him of being a thief and chased him out of the village.

In his wanderings, Figeater came across an old beggarman. He looked very familiar, and as they spoke they realised that each was the one the other was a king in disguise, searching for his son who had been taken away by robbers and abandoned many years ago. The son, of course, was none other than Figeater, and he and his father went back rejoicing to their kingdom where they lived long and prosperously.

James the Simpleton

Although James was a complete simpleton, he was very willing and helpful. One day he went to a friend's house for lunch, which was very fortunate.

When the returned he found that his father, his mother and his two brothers had all eaten mushrooms and were now in so much pain that they feared that they had been poisoned.

'Run to the pharmacy,' said his father, who could not move for his stomach cramps, 'and get something very strong for stomach upsets, a dose for four people. Have you got that?'

'Yes, dad: I have to go and get something for upset stomachs, a dose for four people.'

'Good. Go on. Be quick!'

They waited and waited, but James did not return and his father began to worry; he knew his son was capable of doing anything. Luckily he began to feel better, and so he went out to look for the boy. He found James by the roadside doubled up and in great pain, holding his stomach.

'What have you done to yourself?' asked the father worriedly.

'Just what you told me to. dad,' James replied. 'I want to the pharmacy and got the four doses of medicine, and then I took them all.'

The Twelve Hunters

The prince of the kingdom of the East was called to his father's deathbed to hear his last word: 'Promise me that you will marry the queen of the Kingdom of the North. 'The prince felt his heart freeze, for he was already in love with the princess of the Kingdom of the South, but he did not dare to go against his father, and he made the promise. When he failed to return to his true love, she decided to go and see for herself what had happened to him. She chose eleven handmaidens and bade them dress up as hunters. She, too, disguised herself and, with her companions, she went to the Kingdom of the East, where her loved one was now the ruler. The prince took the hunters into his service, not realising that they were maidens; nor did he recognise his beloved. But when the royal wedding was proclaimed, the princess of the Kingdom off the South was so pained that she swooned. The prince rushed to help her and then recognised on her finger the ring which he had given her as a token of his love.

Then the king realised that he loved her too much to be able to keep his promise to his father to marry the queen of the Kingdom of the North, and, when she saw how happy the two lovers were together, went back home and left them to their joy.

Hurashima and the Dragon

Hurashima was a young Japanese fisherman who was brave and generous. One day he came across some boys who had caught a turtle and were tormenting it. Feeling sorry for it, Hurashima used what little money he had to buy it from them and set if free in the sea.

Some time later, when he was out fishing, he heard his name being called. It was the turtle, who asked Hurashima to climb onto its back so that it might take him to meet the powerful dragon, the Lord of the Seas, who wished to show Hurashima its gratitude. So he climbed onto the turtle's back and was taken a fantastic castle on the seabed.

The dragon received and invited him with full ceremony and invited hi to remain as its guest. Hurashima accepted, and for a while he was able to enjoy all the delights imaginable; but then he grew homesick and asked to return.

Back on dry land, Hurashima found everything changed. His house and loved ones were no longer there. He came to the realisation that he had been away for many years. Then, all of a sudden, Hurashima felt himself growing older and older. Only then did he understand that, by returning, he had given up the dragon's most precious gift, eternal youth.

The Sick Camel

A camel who lived all alone on the edge of an oasis fell ill and all his relatives and friends went to visit him there.

Because the journey was a long one, they each stayed for a while to rest up and eat the grass that was growing around the oasis. The camel was pleased to be visited, but when he felt better and roused himself to go and look for something to eat, he discovered that his friends and relatives had eaten everything. What could he do? There was no choice but to set off...and look for another oasis.

The Magic Barrel and the Bewitched Sword

Ivan the cossack had saved the life of a sorceress. In reward, she gave him a magic barrel. If you twisted the lid one way, a castle appeared; if you twisted it the other way, the castle would disappear.

Now, Ivan did not really know what to do with the barrel and he looked forward to the day when he could trade if for something more useful.

One evening he was approached by an old man who asked him for a meal. Ivan caused the castle to appear, generously invited the old man in, and then let him eat his fill from the food-laden table they found ready. The old man was very taken with the castle and offered to exchange his own sword for it.

'Now what do I want with a sword?' refused Ivan, 'I have my sabre.'

'But this is a magic sword,' insisted the old man. 'Raise your arm and the sword will do everything by itself.'

To prove it, the old man raised his arm and the sword flew out of its scabbard and began hacking at some bushes nearby. Ivan was very impressed and agreed to the exchange. When Ivan returned home, he found his city beseiged by enemies. He raised his arm and all by itself the sword destroyed the attackers. Ivan was put in command of the army and given his daughter in marriage - all because he saved the life of a sorcerss.

The Betrothed

The little spinning top fell madly in love with the ball which lived with him in the toy chest. He asked the ball to marry him.

'We are made for each other,' said the top, 'you can leap and I can dance. Together we are the perfect couple.'

But the ball was vain and thought that the spinning to was too unimportant to be her husband, so she turned hi down.

'I fly so high up into the sky,' she explained, 'that I have become engaged to a swallow. He's the one I'll marry,'

One day the ball vanished and the spinning top thought she must have gone off to get married. He never forgot her and continued to yearn for her.

Some time later, the spinning top was pushed too hard and it spun off far away and got lost. Fate brought it to a little stream beside a country path, and there he found his old love again. The ball was very badly worn as it had been exposed to the elements for so long, but the spinning top recognised her at once and asked her to marry him again. The ball, who had not thought of the swallow for a long time, was happy to accept this time, even though the spinning top was also very scratched and marked by now.

The Oak Tree and the Spring

Poseidon, who according to the ancient Greeks was the god of the sea, was not satisfied with his immense kingdom and wished to extend his dominion onto dry land as well.

He decided first to attack Athens, which at that time was the most important city in the world. As a beginning to his campaign, he attacked the hill on which the city stood.

So powerful was the sea that the hill was pierced from one side to the other and out of this tunnel came a salt water spring.

But the city was under the protection of Athena, the famous goddess of wisdom. She thought long and hard about how to reconquer it. The sea god had placed a salt water spring beneath the city as a sign of his power. Athena wanted to place a sign there not only of strength but of immortality. She thought for a long time and then created a new tree and planted its seed next to the spring.

In this way there grew up the huge oak tree, which still stands on the highest part of Athens, while Poseidon's spring of water dried up a long, long time ago.

The Hunting Dog and the Guard Dog

A man had two dogs and he trained one as a hunter and one as a guard dog; but whenever the hunting dog caught some game, the tastiest morsels were always given to the guard dog.

One day the hunter protested to the guard dog: It's not fair. I work at hunting all day long and you get your food without doing anything.'

'That must be the way the master wants it,' replied the guard dog.

'Obviously it is more important for him to reward the dog who protects his home that the one who goes out hunting.'

The Never-Ending Story

There was a little flax plant which was very happy with its little blue flowers and the gentle caress of the rain; but one day the farmworkers pulled it out of the ground, and then it was put through a series of machines which twisted and pulled it in every possible way.

But the flax did not complain because it was grateful full all the good things there had been in its life. However, its life was not yet over; in fact, when it finally came off the end of a loom, it had become a magnificent cloth, and the praise of everyone cause for satisfaction.

Then the cloth was attacked by scissors and by a needle, which caused it great discomfort, but they transformed it into a most elegant blouse; and the flax kept on telling itself how lucky it had been in its life, in spite of everything it had been through.

But even yet, life with its pleasures and pain was not over; when the blouse became nothing more than a rag, it was thrown away and ended up being turned into paper. Then the paper was put through the cylinders of the printing machine and then turned into a book; and when at the very end the book was burned, it became smoke and rose up into the sky.

The Artist and His Rival

A famous artist was commissioned by the ruler of a powerful city of point frescoes on the walls of his palace. Scaffolding was put in place and the artist began to paint. The next morning he discovered that his painting had been scrawled on and covered with splashes of paint.

The artist was furious, thinking that one of his rivals had done it. To find the culprit, the prince ordered the guards to hide in the room, so they could surprise the vandol, if he returned, and teach him a lesson. The guilty party was caught in the fact, and turned out to be the prince's pet monkey. It had watched the artist at work and tried to imitate him.

The monkey was put back in its cage until the painting was finished, When it was realesed and saw the painting, the monkey pulled a face, as if to say, 'I could hace done it better.'

'Now you really are behaving like a true painter,' laughed the prince. 'It is well-known that artists do not have the gift of modesty, and they all think their own work is a masterpiece and other artists' work is rubbish.'

Aldebaran and the Celestial Camels

Aldebaran, the most luminous stat in the constellation of Taurus, fell in love with Electra, the most beautiful star of the Pleiades, and he went to ask for her hand in marriage. He bore gifts of a herd of camels, but on the way he was attacked by another aspirant for her hand, Alcyon.

The fight between them is not yet over. Even now, on clam nights, it is possible to see pale blue Electra followed by red Alcyon and then by Aldebaran with his big herd of celestial camels, making up the constellation of the Hyades.

The Thirsty Ant

An ant was scurrying desperately around, looking for something to drink, but it could find nothing. It had become convinced that it was going to die of thirst when a drop of water fell from above and saved its life. In truth, it was a tear, and it was filled with all the magical virtues which are born from suffering; after that the and discovered that it was able suddenly to understand and speak perfectly the language of men.

One day the ant went into a grain store and there, sitting on the floor, was a little girl, crying. 'Why are you so sad?' asked the ant.

'I've been imprisoned by an ogre. He will only set me free when I have made three heaps of grain, barley and rye, out of this huge mountain of seed where they are all mixed together.'

'That will take a month!' exclaimed the ant, looking at the huge pile of seed in the corner.

'If I haven't finished by tomorrow, the ogre will eat me for his supper,' the girl cried.

'Please do not sweep. We'll help you.'

And the ant fetched all his companions and they set to work. The next morning the ogre found that the task was done.

Thus it was that a tear saved a little girl's life.

Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky

A long time ago, the Sun and the Moon were a married couple who lived on the Earth, and were great friends of the Sea. One day, they invited the Sea to visit them but the Sea hesitated, thinking that there might not be enough room in their house. But they reassured him.

So the Sea went along, with the fish and all the members of his family. Immediately the water began to rise, so that the Sun and the Moon, to avoid being drowned, had to climb up onto the roof, and then eventually into the sky, where they have remained ever since.

The Snake Princess

A intrepid cossack once saw some woods burning and tired to put out the fire, but there was nothing the could do. To his horror, amidst the flames he saw a young girl crying out to him to help her. He did not know what to do, as the flames were so fierce.

'Stretch your spear out to me through the flames,' she said. When he did this, the young girl suddenly changed into snake, wrapped herself round the spear, and so the cossack was able to save her. The magical snake then ordered him to take it to a castle. As they arrived, the snake turned back into a woman.

'You must wait here for me for seven years,' she said to the cossack. Then she vanished instantly from before his eyes. Although there was nobody in the castle, it was bewitched. It was enough for the cossack to express a wish, and dinner, or anything else he wished for, would appear. For the faithful cossack the seven years passed quickly; eventually the snake returned to the castle. And then, transformed again into a beautiful princess, she explained to the cossack that she had been bewitched, but his courage and faithfulness had broken the evil spell on her. And so, of course, the cossack and the princess went off to her father, who gladly gave his daughter in marriage to our hero.

The Lovelorn Lion and the Peasant

A lion was unfortunate enough to fall in love with the beautiful daughter of a peasant, and he went to her father to ask for her hand in marriage. The peasant was worried about his daughter's future, but didn't have the courage to refuse the lion openly.

'My daughter,' he pretended, 'is allergic to teeth and claws. Come back after you have had them removed, and you can marry her,'

The lovelorn lion promptly had his teeth and claws removed, but when he came back, he was absolutely harmless and the peasant beat him with a stick and chased him away.

Pen and Inkwell

On the desk of a famous poet there was an inkwell. During the night, when things come alive, it was very full of itself.

'It's incredible,' it said. 'how many beautiful things come out of me. A few drops of my ink are enough to fill an entire page, and then how many wonderful and moving things can be read in it.'

But its vanity began to annoy the pen. 'You don't understand, you fat fool, that you are just the supplier of the raw material. It is I who make use of your ink and write down on paper what I have in me. There is no doubt that it is the pen that does the writing.'

The poet came home from a concert and the music had inspired him.

'How stupid would the bow and violin be,' he wrote on a sheet of paper, 'if they boasted that they alone were making the music. So often men are just as stupid, when we boast of doing something, forgetting that we are all instruments in the hands of God.'

But still he inkwell and the pen, which had been used to write these words, learned no lesson from them.

The Emperor's New Clothes

There was once a tailor who boasted that he could make wonderful clothes: only intelligent and sensitive people could see them, to all others they were invisible. The emperor heard of this and thought that such a suit would be very becoming. He called the tailor before him and ordered him to make a suit for him.

The tailor asked for thread and a great deal of money, and began his work; or rather he presented to work, because there was nothing on the loom. However, each courtier, who was sent by the emperor to check on the work, returned full of enthusiasm.'What wounderful cloth! What lovely work! Whan an oriiginal design!'Actually they had seen nothing, but they were lying in case they were thought to be stupid or insensitive. In the end, the emperor also pretended to be enthusiastic about the suit, even though he could not see it either.

He decided to wear it for a big parade, and as he passed through the crowd, all the people exclaimed: 'What a wonderful suit of clothes.'Until a little boy shouted: 'Hey, look, the emperor's got no clothes on.' And the crowd also shouted then, 'He's got no clothes on.' The only thing then for the embarassed emperor to do was to run back to the palace as fast as his legs would carry him.