Wisdom Tales from Around the World

Containing simple truths, common sense, and the promise that people can benefit from past generations' experience, this book is a collection of 50 metaphorical folk tales and parables selected with a global perspective and retold by a professional storyteller. Includes traditional stories reflecting the cumulative wisdom of Sufi, Zen, Taoist, Buddhist, Jewish, Christian, African, and Native American cultures.Tales from ancient India. Jataka tales. The talkative turtle ; The wise master ; A flock of birds --Tales from the Panchatantra. The lion makers ; The blue jackal who showed his true colors ; The lion and the rabbit --The blind men and the elephant. Tales from China : Taoist parables. Blinded by greed ; The stolen ax / based on a tale by Lieh Tzu --The best fit / based on a tale by Han Fei --The powerful fighting cock ; Whose dream is this? ; The useless tree / based on a tale by Chuang Tzu --A farmer's horse ran off / based on a tale by Lui An. Zen stories from Japan. A monk with heavy thoughts --The wild strawberry --Empty-cup mind --A dispute in sign language --Giving the moon. Tales from ancient Greece. Aesop's fables. Antlers ; Everyone agrees to peace ; Mice in council --Tales of Mount Olympus. Baucis and Philemon ; Echo and Narcissus. Tales from the Middle East : Sufi stories of Mulla Nasrudin. The boatman --The smuggler --Feeding his clothes --Looking for the key. Tales from the Jewish tradition. Feathers (Eastern European, Hasidic) --This too shall pass (Ancient Israel, a King Solomon legend) --The wooden sword (Afghanistan). Tales from the Christian tradition. The legend of St. Genesius --Amazing grace : the story of John Newton (1725-1807) --The prodigal son : a parable from the New Testament. Tales from Africa. Fire, water, truth, and falsehood (Northeast Africa, Ethiopia) --The red and blue coat (Central Africa, Congo) --Tongue meat (East-Central Africa, Swahili) --Why wisdom is everywhere (West Africa, Ashanti). Tales from Asia and Southeast Asia. The parts of the house argue (Philippines) --The tiger's whisker (Korea) --Little Lizard's sorrow (Vietnam). Tales from Europe. The three wishes (England) --The wooden bowl (Germany) --The happy man's shirt (Italy) --The dancing lass of Anglesey (Scotland). Tales from the Americas. How war was ended (North American Arctic, Central Yup'ik Eskimo) --How the quetzal got its red breast (Central America, Maya) --Old Dog and Coyote (Mexico, Otomi) --Paca and Beetle (South America, Brazil) --Gluscabi and the magic game bag (North American eastern woodlands, Abenaki). Proverbs from around the world