When a boy visits another village, he is amazed to find the townspeople terrified of something that -- just because they have not seen it before -- they mistake for a terrible, dangerous animal. With his own knowledge and by demonstration, the boy helps them overcome their fears.

This story is part of an oral tradition from the Middle East and Central Asia that is more than a thousand years old. In an entertaining way, it introduces children to an interesting aspect of human behavior and so enables them to recognize it in their daily...

The Queen of Hich-Hich fails to follow the instructions given to her by Arif the Wise Man, and, as a result, gives birth to a half-boy. Neem makes himself complete by an act of cleverness, negotiation and compromise. This story helps children learn flexibility and perseverance.

For more than a thousand years this story has entertained young people and helped to foster in them the ability to examine their assumptions and to think for themselves. This tale is one of the many hundreds of Sufi developmental stories collected by Idries Shah from oral and written...

The story of The Farmer's Wife tells how a woman first loses an apple in a hole in the ground, and then attempts a series of efforts to get it back. Children enjoy learning to repeat the sequence from memory, and when the story takes a sudden turn, contrary to all expectations, they also learn important lessons on how to resolve problems creatively.

The strikingly beautiful illustrations by Rose Mary Santiago invoke the origins of the story -- this traditional story has been told for hundreds of years in the Middle East and Central Asia -- while at the same time lending a...