14 minSummaryRead it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A merchant loses everything in a day, a traveler faces a prophecy, and magic waits along the road.
Eastern Tales by Many Story Tellers gathers fairy tales of enchantment, adventure and hard lessons. Compiled by Laura Valentine, these stories bring sultans, merchants, magicians and poor travelers into worlds of wonder and danger. Long journeys and sudden turns of luck leave people facing forces they cannot easily control.
There is no single hero or continuous plot here. Instead, many anonymous tellers share a world of bound spirits, unlucky births and warnings that demand attention. These tales belong to the same family as the Arabian Nights. Fate pulls hard, but wit offers an answer, and each story is short enough to enjoy in one sitting.
What you’ll discover
- Magic along the road Meet a world where spirits can be bound in bottles or lamps.
- Fortunes that turn suddenly Follow merchants and travelers as sudden losses and strange warnings unsettle their lives.
- Wit against fate Discover tales where human resourcefulness answers the hard pull of destiny.
- Many voices together Explore a shared storehouse of enchantment, long journeys, sudden luck and hard lessons.
- Stories to share aloud Enjoy the recurring tasks, brothers and warnings that give these tales their familiar rhythms.
Who will love it
Readers who love genii, talismans and wandering princes will enjoy this collection, as will those drawn to stories nested within stories.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Paid friendship leaves Jalaladdeen alone
- Curiosity binds Jalaladdeen to a quest
- A white bird divides a family
- The Caliph listens before he judges
- Jussuf follows wonder away from duty
- A small doubt confronts great power
- Misnar needs courage and prudence
- Aladin answers accusations with stories
- Character gives the wonders their meaning
Who’s who
- JalaladdeenA quiet young man of Baghdad who squanders his father's gold on feasting friends and is later driven by a nightly visitor to seek a wonder-stone.
- HaschemA well-loved young man of Baghdad who follows a white bird into the wood and is shut inside a golden tower.
- Haroun al RaschidThe Caliph of Baghdad, who walks the streets in disguise with Giafar and Mesrour to learn how his people live.
- JussufA serious merchant of Balsora who catches a butterfly and spends his wealth and years following the maiden it hides.
- MisnarThe young Sultan of India, who must hold his throne against his brother Ahubal and a league of enchanters.
- AladinA prince raised by robbers, who is accused by ten jealous Viziers and tells one tale each day to delay his sentence.
- DamakeA Tartar maiden who refuses an emperor's offer and insists on earning his esteem through wisdom and gifts.
- SmaragdineA clever and resourceful slave who saves her husband Alischar from poverty and later rides into a city disguised as a cavalier.
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- Large print hardcover
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Eastern Tales by Many Story Tellers in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Eastern Tales by Many Story Tellers
by Laura Valentine (compiler) (editor)
A dying father hands Jalaladdeen a rope and one instruction, and a haunted copper chest waits in his future.
Challenging10–20 hours to read20 languages
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In short
What would you do if your dying father handed you a rope, with one instruction: tie it to a nail in the wall and pull three times? That is how the first tale in Eastern Tales by Many Story Tellers begins.
Eastern Tales by Many Story Tellers at a glance
- Reading time
- About 12 h 30 min9 h 55 min fast, 14 h 55 min slow
- Length
- 178,600 words
- Library level
- Challenging long sentences, a rich vocabulary
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A dying father's rope tests a spendthrift son
Jalaladdeen of Baghdad lives quietly with his father. When the old man falls ill, he warns that small daily costs grow into large sums. His last gift is a rope, to be tied to a nail and pulled three times if poverty ever comes.
After the funeral, Jalaladdeen finds a locked room full of gold and jewels. Next door, five young men laugh over a rich table, and he feels lonely. They talk him into joining them. Soon they say his house is cramped, so he builds a pavilion.
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Which edition is right for me
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Details
- Language
- English
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Eastern Tales by Many Story Tellers. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/eastern-tales-by-many-story-tellers.
Eastern tales by many story tellers. (2026). Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/eastern-tales-by-many-story-tellers
Eastern Tales by Many Story Tellers. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/eastern-tales-by-many-story-tellers.
@book{anonymous2026eastern,
title = {Eastern Tales by Many Story Tellers},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/eastern-tales-by-many-story-tellers}
}
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What is Eastern Tales by Many Story Tellers about?
It is a collection of oriental legends set mostly in Baghdad, Persia and India. Caliphs, merchants, princes and slaves meet genii, talismans and enchanters, and many tales nest inside longer ones.
Who is Haroun al Raschid in these stories?
He is the Caliph of Baghdad. He walks the streets in disguise with his Grand Vizier Giafar and his chamberlain Mesrour, listening to his people and testing stories before passing judgment.
What is the wonder-stone of Mount Massis?
It is the treasure that Jalaladdeen is ordered to fetch in the first tale. Three genii guard it in a castle on the mountain, also called Ararat, and set him three tasks before he can claim it.
The author
Laura Valentine
Compiler
Compiler.
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