Tales of the Wise
A worldwide selection of wisdom folklore
Compiled & Edited by
Praveen Dabré
SMASHWORDS EDITION
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PUBLISHED BY:
Praveen Dabré on Smashwords
Tales of the Wise
Copyright © 2010 by Praveen Dabré
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a compilation of traditional folklore from across the world. By definition these are in the public domain and free of copyright. However, the author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of those tales that are so copyrighted and have inadvertently been included in this collection.
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Tales of the Wise
A worldwide selection of wisdom folklore
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The King's Son
A CERTAIN king had a son, and sent him out to be nursed by a smith’s wife. This crafty woman put the king’s child in a common cradle, and her own son in the gorgeous royal cradle.
Some years afterwards, the king took the changeling to court, and brought his foster-brother with him. One fine day, the king set out for his favourite forest to hunt, and took his pretended son with him. When they arrived, the king asked, “How do you like this place, my son? Is it not a magnificent wood?” The boy replied, “O father, if we could only burn it all somehow, what a fine lot of charcoal we should have!”
Then the king sent for the other boy, and asked him the same question. “There could not be a better forest, your Majesty!”
“But what would you do with it if it were yours?”
“Nothing, your Majesty. I would double the guards, so that it should not be injured.”
Then the king saw how the smith’s wife had tried to cheat him, and put her in prison.
– Georgia
The Sack of Woes
MULA CAME upon a frowning man walking along the road to town. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
The man held up a tattered bag and moaned, “All that I own in this wide world barely fills this miserable, wretched sack.”
“Too bad,” said Mula, and with that, he snatched the bag from the man’s hands and ran down the road with it.
Having lost everything, the man burst into tears and, more miserable than before, continued walking. Meanwhile, Mula quickly ran around the bend and placed the man’s sack in the middle of the road where he would have to come upon it.
When the man saw his bag sitting in the road before him, he laughed with joy, and shouted, “My sack! I thought I’d lost you!”
Watching through the bushes, Mula chuckled, “Well, that’s one way to make someone happy!”
– Middle East
Why Turtles Live In Water
TURTLES USED to live on the land, they say, until the time a clever turtle was caught by some hunters. They brought him to their village and placed the turtle before the Chief, who said, “How shall we cook him?”
“You’ll have to kill me first,” said the turtle, “and take me out of this shell.”
“We’ll break your shell with sticks,” they said.
“That’ll never work,” said the turtle, “Why don’'t you throw me in the water and drown me?!”
“Excellent idea,” said the Chief. They took the turtle to the river and threw him into the water to drown him.
They were congratulating themselves on their success in drowning the turtle, when two little green eyes poked up in the water and the laughing turtle said, “Don’t get those cooking pots out too fast, foolish people! As he swam away he said, “I think I’ll spend most of my time from now on, safely in the water.”
It has been that way ever since!
– West Africa
You Don’t Know
A PIOUS old man would each day cross the village green and go into the temple to pray. A soldier watched him do this day after day. One morning, in an ill temper, the soldier stopped the old man and said, “Where do you think you’re going?”
“I don’t know,” replied the old man.
“What do you mean, you don’t know?!” said the soldier. “Everyday I see you walk out of your house at this time, cross the village green and go into the temple to pray! Answer me! Where are you going?”
Again the old man replied, “I don’t know.”
With that, the soldier grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, took him to the jail and pushed him into a cell. Just as the soldier was turning the key, the old man looked at the jail and said, “See! You don’t know!”
– Eastern Europe
The Father’s Prophecy
A CERTAIN man was wont to tell his son, while thrashing him, that he would never come to any good. The boy grew tired of these rebukes, and ran away from home.
Ten years later he had risen to the rank of pasha, and was set over the very pashalik where his father lived. On his way to his post, the new pasha stopped at a place twenty miles off, and said to the Bashi-Bazouks of his guard, “Ride to such and such a village, seize so and so, and bring him to me.”
The Bashi-Bazouks arrived at night, dragged the sick old man out of bed, and took him to the pasha. The pasha stretched himself to his full height, and, ordering the old man to look him in the face, said, “Do you know me?”
The old man fixed his gaze on the pasha, and cried, “Ah, pasha! You are my son.”
“Did you not tell me in my boyhood that I should never come to any good? Now look at me,” and the pasha pointed to his epaulets.
“Well, was I wrong? You are no man, but only a pasha. What man worthy the name would send for his father in the way you have done? I repeat it, you have gained the rank of pasha, but you have not become a good man.”
– Georgia
The Wise Deer
THERE ONCE lived a large deer. He was very strong, and very wise. So wise was he that when hunters searched for him, wherever he might hide himself, they could never find him. They might pursue him closely, but he, in his wisdom, would hide wherever he chose. The hunters would pass by, close to him, but never see him.
Thus it went on. There were times when many gathered in a group to hunt him. But he knew when they were surrounding him, and he did not go out from his hiding place. So it was that they could never catch him.
After many years, the deer attained a great age. Then, he wanted the hunters to kill him, for he was tired of living. He presented himself to the hunters. But they would pay no attention to his presence, for they said, “He is now very old.”
Many times the poor, old animal followed the trails which hunters frequented in hopes that he might encounter a trap in which he might put his head or his feet, but he could not find them.
In weariness he spoke to the twilight, saying, “Now I render myself up.” And he died. The tale is finished here.
– Yaqui, Mexico
Settling the Father’s Debt
A MAN owed another one five pounds, and the other came to collect it. He asked the son who was at home, “Where is your father?”
“My father’s gone to break a new fence to mend a rotten one.”
“Where is your mother?”
“My mother’s gone to the market to sell sweet to buy sweet.”
“Where is your older brother?”
“Gone to sea to catch what in catching will kill and what him don’ catch will carry home alive.”
“Where is your sister?”
“Me sister in the house weeping over what she was, rejoicing about last year.”
“What are you doing?”
“Taking hot bricks out of oven.”
“Now, my good boy, you’ve given me some hard puzzle. If you tell me the meaning I’ll give you five pounds.”
“When I told you about my father, I meant to say my father owes you five pounds and has gone to borrow five pounds to pay you. When I tell you about my mother, I meant she has gone to sell honey to buy sugar.