Food and the lack thereof is a common theme that runs through a lot of fairy tales all around the world. The Grimm Brothers are widely known for using food as one of their main motives. So well known actually that even the Telegraph treated it in their article Grimms fairytale food. In one of…
Category: India
The Story of Prince Sobur (Folk-Tales of Bengal, 1912) by Rev. Lal Behari Day
Once upon a time there lived a certain merchant who had seven daughters. One day the merchant put to his daughters the question: “By whose fortune do you get your living?” The eldest daughter answered—“Papa, I get my living by your fortune.” The same answer was given by the second daughter, the third, the fourth,…
The Boy whom Seven Mothers Suckled (Folk-Tales of Bengal, 1912) by Rev. Lal Behari Day
Once on a time there reigned a king who had seven queens. He was very sad, for the seven queens were all barren. A holy mendicant, however, one day told the king that in a certain forest there grew a tree, on a branch of which hung seven mangoes; if the king himself plucked those…
The Evil Eye of Sani (Folk-Tales of Bengal, 1912) by Rev. Lal Behari Day
Once upon a time Sani, or Saturn, the god of bad luck, and Lakshmi, the goddess of good luck, fell out with each other in heaven. Sani said he was higher in rank than Lakshmi, and Lakshmi said she was higher in rank than Sani. As all the gods and goddesses of heaven were equally…
The Story of Swet-Basanta (Folk-Tales of Bengal, 1912) by Rev. Lal Behari Day
There was a rich merchant who had an only son whom he loved passionately. He gave to his son whatever he wanted. His son wanted a beautiful house in the midst of a large garden. The house was built for him, and the grounds were laid out into a fine garden. One day as the…
The Story of the Rakshasas (Folk-Tales of Bengal, 1912) by Rev. Lal Behari Day
There was a poor half-witted Brahman who had a wife but no children. It was only with difficulty he could supply the wants of himself and his wife. And the worst of it was that he was rather lazily inclined. He was averse to taking long journeys, otherwise he might always have had enough, in…