Indian Fairy Tales · Chapters

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Chapter companions for Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs.

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Chapter 1
Dedication
A brief dedication to a child named Phil, setting a personal and affectionate tone for the book.
Chapter 2
Indian Fairy Tales
A collection of Indian fairy tales featuring moral lessons, cunning animals, and magical transformations, exploring themes of gratitude, justice, and the consequences of greed.
Chapter 3
The Lion and the Crane
A crane (the Bodhisatta) removes a bone stuck in a lion's throat, saving his life. When the crane later asks for gratitude, the lion threatens him instead. The crane rebukes the lion's ingratitude and flies away. The Buddha identifies the lion as Devadatta the Traitor and himself as the crane.
Chapter 4
How the Raja’s Son Won the Princess Labam
A Raja's son, forbidden by his mother to hunt on the fourth side, disobeys and discovers a jungle of talking parrots. Their king, Hiraman, mentions the Princess Labam, sparking the prince's obsession. Despite his parents' pleas, he sets out to find her. On his journey, he helps an ant colony by sparing their sweetmeats, earning the Ant-Raja's gratitude and a promise of aid. He then removes a thorn from a tiger's paw, gaining the tiger's loyalty. Later, he cleverly acquires magical items (a flying bed, a wish-granting bag, a water bowl, and a beating stick and rope) from quarreling fakirs. Using the bed, he flies to Princess Labam's country. Disguised and aided by an old woman, he secretly visits the princess at night, first giving her a shawl, then a ring, revealing his identity. The princess agrees to marry him, but her father sets an impossible task: crush oil from eighty pounds of mustard seed in one day or die.
Chapter 5
The Lambikin
A tiny lambikin sets off to visit his granny, promising predators he will return fatter. After gorging himself for seven days, he hides inside a drum made from his brother's skin to avoid being eaten. He tricks several animals, but the clever jackal recognizes his voice and devours him.

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Dedication

Indian Fairy Tales

The Lion and the Crane

How the Raja’s Son Won the Princess Labam

The Lambikin