Summary
Summary of Indian Fairy Tales
Key ideas
Key idea 1
Familiar tales may have Indian roots
Joseph Jacobs argues that many tales shared by European children came from India. He is especially confident about comic tales and jingles. His evidence includes the Jatakas, the Birth Stories of the Buddha, alongside other collections and stories gathered from village storytellers.
That gives these tales two lives: each offers its own adventure, while also suggesting how stories travel. Grateful animals, magic gifts and clever youngest children become clues to connections between stories told in different places.
Key idea 2
Kindness gives a prince unexpected allies
Start free to read
Key idea 3
Quick thinking answers teeth and claws
Start free to read
Key idea 4
Balna's son searches for his family
Start free to read
Key idea 5
Earlier lives carry clear moral lessons
Start free to read
Key idea 6
Trust matters when promises look tempting
Start free to read
Key idea 7
Young heroes face threats from rulers
Start free to read
Key idea 8
Friends and disguise protect royal hopes
Start free to read
Key idea 9
Each adventure carries a lesson onward
Start free to read
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
Read the rest freeWho it’s for
You will love this book if you enjoy animal fables, magic rings and clever heroes, or if you like to follow one story from an Indian village fire to an English nursery.
What this book is
How do the same fairy tales reach India and Europe? Joseph Jacobs gathers twenty-nine stories and argues that many shared European tales may have Indian roots. You meet a prince who seeks a glowing princess, a lamb who talks his way past hungry beasts, a magician disguised as a holy man, and the future Buddha as a crane, a tree spirit and a prince. Jacobs adds notes on the tales' sources and their connections with stories elsewhere. The first idea is where these stories come from.
In this summary
- 1Jacobs argues for Indian roots in shared talesFree
- 2Kindness to animals brings help when it is needed
- 3Quick wits can outsmart the strong
- 4Balna faces a cruel stepmother and a magician
- 5The Buddha speaks through animals, spirits and princes
- 6Fate and trust are tested in three tales
- 7Clever heirs outplay cruel and powerful rulers
- 8Disguise, loyal friends and riddles carry the longer tales
- 9The notes show how a story crosses the world
Key point 1 of 9
Jacobs argues for Indian roots in shared tales
Jacobs makes a bold claim. He argues that the tales European children share come from India, and that these make up more than a third of Europe's fairy tales. He is most sure about the comic tales and the jingles.
His best proof is the Jatakas, the Birth Stories of the Buddha. He calls them the oldest collection of folk tales in the world, gathered more than two thousand years before the brothers Grimm. He also draws on the Fables of Bidpai and on newer collections written down by Miss Frere, Miss Stokes, Major Temple and others from village storytellers. Medieval preachers and Italian storytellers, he says, carried many of these plots into Europe.
For you, that gives every tale two lives. It is a good story, and it is also a clue to how stories travel. Listen for plots you already know, such as grateful animals, magic gifts and a clever youngest child. Then see how they look in their Indian dress.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
- Nothing to pay today · Renews every year
- We email you before you pay
- Cancel online in two clicks
Check yourself
What does Jacobs argue about many tales shared by European children?
Right. “He argues that the tales European children share come from India, and that these make up more than a third of Europe's fairy tales.”Not quite. “He argues that the tales European children share come from India, and that these make up more than a third of Europe's fairy tales.”
Why do the ants and tiger promise to help the prince seeking Princess Labam?
Right. “His kindness wins friends, while his trick brings magical tools.”Not quite. “His kindness wins friends, while his trick brings magical tools.”
What do the tales of Lambikin and the trapped tiger place against strength?
Right. “Quick wits beat brute force, and greed, pride and talk without thought bring trouble.”Not quite. “Quick wits beat brute force, and greed, pride and talk without thought bring trouble.”
Questions about Indian Fairy Tales
What are the Jatakas?
The Jatakas are Buddhist birth stories about the earlier lives of the Buddha, in which he appears as an animal, a spirit or a prince. The book includes several, such as The Lion and the Crane and The Talkative Tortoise.
Are these tales really from India, and are they old?
Yes, they come from Indian sources, from the Jatakas of more than two thousand years ago to village tales written down in the nineteenth century. Jacobs says some can be traced back over a thousand years.
Is Indian Fairy Tales easy to read?
Each tale can be read on its own. Plots are clear, with magic gifts, talking animals and clever heroes, and many end with a verse or a plain moral. You can read them in any order.
