Twenty-nine traditional tales from India include "The Tiger, the Brahman, and the Jackal," "The Lion and the Crane," and "Why the Fish Laughed."

‘Indian Fairy Tales’ is a collection of twenty-nine classic Indian stories, collated by Joseph Jacobs, and accompanied by the masterful black-and-white illustrations of John D. Batten. It includes such tales as ‘The Lion and the Crane’, ‘How the Raja’s Son won the Princess Labam’, ‘The Magic Fiddle’, ‘The Tiger, the Brahman and the Jackal’, ‘The Soothsayer’s Son’, ‘The Gold-giving Serpent’, and many more. Joseph Jacobs (1854 – 1916), was an Australian folklorist, literary critic, historian and writer of English literature, who became a notable collector and publisher of English folklore. Heavily influenced by the Brothers Grimm and the romantic nationalism ubiquitous in his contemporary folklorists, Jacobs was responsible for introducing English fairy tales to English children, who had previously chiefly enjoyed those derived from French and German folklore. John Dickson Batten (1860 – 1932), was a British figure painter, as well as a book illustrator and printmaker. He illustrated almost all of Jacob’s works, including, English Fairy Tales (1890), Celtic Fairy Tales (1892), Indian Fairy Tales (1912), and European Folk and Fairy Tales (1916). In addition, Batten is also celebrated for his delicately rendered imaginings of Arabian Nights and Dante’s Inferno. Presented alongside the text, his illustrations further refine and elucidate Joseph Jacob’s enchanting narratives. Pook Press celebrates the great ‘Golden Age of Illustration‘ in children’s classics and fairy tales – a period of unparalleled excellence in book illustration. We publish rare and vintage Golden Age illustrated books, in high-quality colour editions, so that the masterful artwork and story-telling can continue to delight both young and old.

This book is a representative collection of twenty-nine Fairy Tales of India. Take a literary tour through India's rich folk tale tradition in this comprehensive volume by historian and folklorist Joseph Jacobs.These Indian tales resemble the stories that flourished in Europe, such as the tales by the Brothers Grimm and by Aesop, although they have an Indian flavor. The collector of these stories contends that they are very old, older than the legends and folk-tales that later flourished in Europe. He believes that India was the originator of this genre and the stories were possibly brought to Europe by the crusaders or other travelers that passed through India. In this book feature 30 stories taken from popular South Asian oral history.

From the extreme West of the Indo-European world, we go this year to the extreme East. From the soft rain and green turf of Gaeldom, we seek the garish sun and arid soil of the Hindoo. In the Land of Ire, the belief in fairies, gnomes, ogres and monsters is all but dead; in the Land of Ind it still flourishes in all the vigour of animism. Soils and national characters differ; but fairy tales are the same in plot and incidents, if not in treatment. The majority of the tales in this volume have been known in the West in some form or other, and the problem arises how to account for their simultaneous existence in farthest West and East. Some—as Benfey in Germany, M. Cosquin in France, and Mr. Clouston in England—have declared that India is the Home of the Fairy Tale, and that all European fairy tales have been [viii]brought from thence by Crusaders, by Mongol missionaries, by Gipsies, by Jews, by traders, by travellers. The question is still before the courts, and one can only deal with it as an advocate. So far as my instructions go, I should be prepared, within certain limits, to hold a brief for India. So far as the children of Europe have their fairy stories in common, these—and they form more than a third of the whole—are derived from India. In particular, the majority of the Drolls or comic tales and jingles can be traced, without much difficulty, back to the Indian peninsula...

Reproduction of the original.

This collection of Indian fairy tales features classic stories from the rich cultural heritage of India. The book, illustrated by John Dickson Batten, includes timeless tales such as 'The Magic Cow' and 'The Boy Who Drew Cats, ' and is sure to capture the imagination of readers young and old. Edited by the renowned folklorist Joseph Jacobs, this book provides a fascinating introduction to Indian folklore. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Soils and national characters differ; but fairy tales are the same in plot and incidents, if not in treatment. The majority of the tales in this volume have been known in the West in some form or other, and the problem arises how to account for their simultaneous existence in farthest West and East. Some - as Benfey in Germany, M. Cosquin in France, and Mr. Clouston in England - have declared that India is the Home of the Fairy Tale, and that all European fairy tales have been brought from thence by Crusaders, by Mongol missionaries, by Gipsies, by Jews, by traders, by travellers. The question is still before the courts, and one can only deal with it as an advocate. So far as my instructions go, I should be prepared, within certain limits, to hold a brief for India. So far as the children of Europe have their fairy stories in common, these - and they form more than a third of the whole - are derived from India. In particular, the majority of the Drolls or comic tales and jingles can be traced, without much difficulty, back to the Indian peninsula.

The Bodhisatta was at one time born in the region of Himavanta as a white crane; now Brahmadatta was at that time reigning in Benares. Now it chanced that as a lion was eating meat a bone stuck in his throat. The throat became swollen, he could not take food, his suffering was terrible. The crane seeing him, as he was perched on a tree looking for food, asked, "What ails thee, friend?" He told him why. "I could free thee from that bone, friend, but dare not enter thy mouth for fear thou mightest eat me." "Don't be afraid, friend, I'll not eat thee; only save my life." "Very well," says he, and caused him to lie down on his left side. But thinking to himself, "Who knows what this fellow will do," he placed a small stick upright between his two jaws that he could not close his mouth, and inserting his head inside his mouth struck one end of the bone with his beak. Whereupon the bone dropped and fell out.