ARAB STORIES and FOLKLORE
(excerpts from posts)
(If you want to retell any of the stories listed below, be sure to obtain permission from the copyright holder if the material is not in the public domain)

1) I recommend Wooden Sword from Heather Forest's book Wisdom Tales from Around the World (World Storytelling). Heather had lists it as a tale from Afghanistan. It is the story of a king who finds a happy peasant who has faith that everything will be well. The king thwarts him in many ways, but when the peasant (turned solider because of the king's efforts) has to sell his sword blade to eat, the peasant replaces it with a wooden one. The king knowing about the wooden blade decides to test the peasant's faith that all will be well. The king orders the peasant to cut off the head of the thief, or lose his own life. The peasant shows that faith coupled with wit can save your life, as he raises his arms to the heavens and says, "If this man is guilty, I will cut off his head. But if he is innocent, give me a sign ... turn my blade to wood." The king keeps him on as an advisor.

2) Aaron Shepard has tales from Iran, Indian and Pakistan.
http://www.aaronshep.com/stories/folk.html

3) Five Arab tales at this site.
One Thousand and One Nights
A Beautiful Girl and the Prince
Laila
Juhha
Ali Baba
http://www.otan.dni.us/webfarm/emailproject/uae.htm

4) A few here as well, including The Arabian Nights.
http://dmoz.org/Society/Folklore/Literature/Tales/Fairy_Tales/World_Tales/Middle_Eastern/

5) Sufi tales/stories - quite a few are on the web. They are short, puzzling, delightful and often funny. Lots of people like them. Idries Shah has published many books of them, including compilations of the Hodja, the Mullah Nasruddin.
• Sufi Tales as told by Idries Shah
http://www.katinkahesselink.net/sufi/stories.html
• Sufi Tales
http://www.vedanta-atlanta.org/stories/Sufi.html
• Sufi tales as a key to learning
http://www.princeton57.org/dynamic.asp?id=religion_sufi
• The Judgment of God - A Sufi Tale
http://darvish.wordpress.com/2006/07/04/the-judgment-of-god-a-sufi-tale/
• Zensufi Park
http://www.zensufi.com/

6) Zen tales - again, short and frequently funny. Lots available on the web, and various published compilations.

7) The 25 Tales of a Vetala (vampire) - this classic collection of dilemma tales is explicitly designed as a test of wisdom. You can find them as a sub-story within volumes six and seven of the gigantic Ocean of Story, from India. They have also been published under various similar names.
See also: The ocean of story: Being C.H. Tawney's translation of Somadeva's Katha sarit sagara (or Ocean of streams of story)

8) Gesta Romanorum or Entertaining Moral Stories Invent by the Monks - the gests of the Romans, this was an immensely popular mediaeval collection or moral tales, with commentary. The heavy moral tone of some, and the Christian sensibility, may not be fashionable now.
See also: Tales from the Gesta Romanorum

9) The mediaeval European collections are all good, though tending to focus on folk wisdom rather than the mystical kind: The Decameron - The Heptameron (Penguin Classics), Stories from Pentamerone, Pleasant Nights (often known by other variations of the name) by The most delectable nights of Straparola of Caravaggio. The majority, at least the first and third of these, are available online, or check out Penguin Classics in book form for the first two.

10) Indian tales - the prototype for most European tales. The Panchatantra is an all-time best-seller, being translated into every language of the mediaeval world. It's a collection of fables, in a frame. A substantial modern collection of great traditional

11) Indian tales is published as A Flowering Tree: And Other Oral Tales from India, and by the author's magnanimity the whole text is available online.

12) Arabian and Persian - these cultures have so many collections of wisdom tales it's ridiculous. Try a few of these: The Garden of Mystical Truth, by Sana'i - a traditional manual of Sufism in verse. Each chapter contains illustrative stories.

13) The Conference of Birds (Penguin Classics) by Farid ud-Din 'Attar - a marvellous allegorical rendering of Sufism, consisting of a group of stories bound together by a pilgrimage, not unlike The Canterbury Tales (Penguin Classics), although this predates Chaucer, being 12th century. The birds of the world gather to search for the ideal king.

14)A Book of Wisdom and Lies, by Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani - A collection of over a hundred fables, stories, proverbs and riddles made at the end of the 17th century. The frame story is of courtiers arguing about wise conduct, each illustrating his every point by means of a fable - a dazzling story-battle.

15) The Gulistan, or, Rose garden of Sa'di, by Sheikh Muslih-uddin Sa'di Shirazi - 183 instructional stories, mostly very short, divided into subjects.
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/sadi-gulistan2.html

16) The Bustan, by Sheikh Muslih-uddin Sa'di Shirazi - a composition of stories and maxims each representing a flower of the garden.

17) Tales from Kalila Wa Dimna: For Students of Arabic by Ibn al-Muqaffa. This is a Persian translation of the Moral Philosophy of Doni Popularly Known As the Fables of Bidpai: Popularly Known As the Fables of Bidpai (Publications of the Barnabe Riche Society, V. 14) which is in turn related to The Panchatantra.

18) And don't forget the The Arabian Nights : A Companion.

19) Includes Arab folktales:
http://www.mythiccrossroads.com/asia.htm

20) Sari Saltik: A Bektashi Story
There was in Dobruja a seven-headed dragon, to which the two daughters of the King were allotted as food. Sari Saltik (who had been sent to the region by Hajji Bektash himself) agreed to deliver the girls if their father would embrace Islam. He went to the column to which they were tied as victims for the dragon, accompanied by his seventy Dervishes, who were beating drums and swinging the banner. He untied the Princesses, and then waited with his wooden sword, expecting the dragon himself, as the seventy Dervishes beat their drums.

When the dragon approached, Sari Saltik addressed it with the verse of the Qur'an that begins, "Greeting on Noah in both worlds." He then cut off three of the dragon's heads, so that it fled with the remaining four. Sari Saltik followed him up to his cave, at the entrance of which he cut off the remaining heads with his wooden sword, and followed the dragon into his den. The beheaded dragon began to struggle with Sari Saltik and to press him against the rock, which gave way under his hands and feet — their marks can still be seen there. The dragon, having exhausted his strength, fell to the ground dead, and Sari Saltik, with his bloody breast and wooden sword, now led the two girls to their father the king.

But the man who had shown Saltik Sultan the road to the column had picked up the tongues and ears of the three heads cut off, and had hurried before Sari Saltik to lay them before the king, boasting that he himself had killed the dragon. Now, though the daughters asserted the contrary, yet the impostor persisted in his boast, so Sari Saltik proposed as a proof, to be boiled with the man in a cauldron. Though the pretender did not like this kind of trial, yet by order of the king he was obliged to undergo it. Sari Saltik was tied up by his Dervishes, and the impostor by his companions, and both were put into a cauldron heated by an immense fire.

Hajji Bektash was at that moment at Kirshehri in Anatolia, and was suddenly overcome. He swept with a handkerchief a dripping rock, saying, "My Saltik Muhammad is now in great anxiety, may Allah help him!" Ever since that day salt water has dripped from that rock, and from thence the salt called Hajji Bektash is produced.
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http://www.superluminal.com/cookbook/essay_sari_saltik.html
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21) If you're going to read the Nights, I highly recommend you get 'The Arabian Nights : A Companion' by Robert Irwin. It really helps with understanding the whole context and contents. You get the tangled history of how the stories were compiled over many centuries, translated, the parallels with other story compilations in history, the storytellers' craft, the cultural context, meanings and significance of many things mentioned in the stories, as well as the considerable impact, consequences and influences of the the Nights arriving in the West. It answers many questions that the storyteller may have in attempting to tell or understand these stories.
Tim S. 1/16/06
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Response: I bought this book on your recommendation. It is making me *very happy.* It's been several years since I read a book (particularly nonfiction book) with such complete enjoyment. When I was a kid, I was a book-glutton; it's rare now that I get that kind of ice-cream pleasure.
TimJ 1/31/06
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22) Bones of the best-known folktales from the Arab World.
Beduin's Gazelle, The
Camel Husband, The
Cat Who Went to Mecca, The
Cobbler Astrologer, The
Division of the Prey
Donkey Driver and the Thief, The
Fisherman and the Genie, The
Father of a Hundred Tricks
Guest Who Ran Away, The
Hospitality of Abu Hussein, The
How the Ewe Outwitted the Jackal
How the Fox Got Back His Tail
King Who Became a Parrot, The
Little Mangy One
Little Red Fish and the Clog of Gold, The
Old Pair of Slippers, The
Princess and the Suit of Leather, The
Scarab Beetle's Daughter, The
Stork Caliph, The
Who Has the Sweetest Flesh on Earth?
Woodcutter and the Lion, The
Woodcutter's Wealthy Sister, The
http://talesandlegends.net/arabpages/fables.html
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23) Arab Children's Literature
http://www.ala.org/ala/booklinksbucket/ArabChildrensLit.pdf

24) Multilingual Books - Children's Arabic
http://www.multilingualbooks.com/arabicchild.html

25) The Newark Public Library, Newark, NJ 0 Arabic Children's Materials
http://www.npl.org/Pages/Multimac/Booklist/no26/acm.html

26) UNESCO Libraries Portal: An international gateway to information for librarians and library users.
http://www.unesco.org/cgi-bin/webworld/portal_bib2/cgi/page.cgi?g=Libraries%2FChildren_and_Young_Adults%2FArab_States%2Findex.shtml;d=1

27) Arab books for children:
• One Thousand and One Arabian Nights (Oxford Story Collections) by Geraldine McCaughrean and Rosamund Fowler.
Book Description
King Shahryar kills a new wife every night, because he is afraid she will stop loving him. But his new bride Shahrazad has a clever plan to save herself. Her nightly stories--of Sinbad the Sailor, Ali Baba, and many other heroes and villains--are so engrossing that King Shahryar has to
postpone her execution again and again... This illustrated edition brings together all the Arabian Nights tales in an original retelling by award-winning author Geraldine McCaughrean.
• Genies, Meanies, and Magic Rings by Stephen Mitchell, Tom Pohrt (illus) and Tracey Campbell Pearson (illus).
Book Description
Master storyteller Stephen Mitchell brings three of the best loved stories from The Arabian Nights to independent young readers ready for adventure. All richly illustrated with lustrous line drawings throughout, they are here for young readers to rediscover: Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, Abu Keer and Abu Seer, and Aladdin and the Magic Lamp in its original setting of China. These stories will bring you to a whole new world; one where clever wit will save the day, thieves give chase with swords and spears, kings can kill with a glance, honesty is rewarded with a vast, unheard-of treasure.
• Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves and Other Stories (Illustrated Stories for Children) by A.E. Jackson (illus).
Book Description
The exotic characters and creatures from the Arabian Nights stories burst from the pages through color art by A.E. Jackson.
• ALADDIN AND THE MAGIC LAMP (Step Into Reading, a Step 3 Book) by Deborah Hautzig
Card catalog description
With the aid of a genie from a magic lamp, Aladdin fights an evil magician and wins the hand of a beautiful princess.
• Tales from the Arabian Nights (Classics for Older Readers) by James Riordan.
Card catalog description
Nine of the tales told by Shaharazad to enchant the cruel sultan and stop him from executing her as he had his other daily wives.
• A Tale from the Arabian Knights (Classics for Kids) by Vincent Buranelli and Hieronimus Fromm (illus).
Card catalog description
Three children, separated from their parents at birth, are reunited with the help of an old man who directs them to a talking bird, singing tree, and water made of gold.
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28) Arab Folktales and anthologies
• Arab Folktales by Inea Bushnaq.
From Library Journal
Because this collection of folktales covers the entire Arab world from Morocco to Iraq, no other contemporary collection fills the niche it does. It is divided into six sections in categories such as animal tales or adventure tales. Sectional introductions provide the cultural background useful for interpreting the tales. The approximately 130 tales vary considerably in length and portray heroes and villains, corruption and nobility equally. The tales were selected from a broad array of previously published sources and transcripts of the editor's field work. General readers will find this book very appealing. David S. Azzolina, Univ. of Pennsylvania Libs., Philadelphia.
• Tunjur! Tunjur! Tunjur!: A Palestinian Folktale by Margaret Read MacDonald, Ibrahim Muhawi, Sharif Kananah and Alik Arzoumanian (illus).
From Booklist
PreS-Gr. 2. In this lively Palestinian tale, a woman wishes for a child to love, "even if it is nothing more than a cooking pot." Voila! Her wish comes true, and red Little Pot appears. The two spend cozy days indoors, but restless Little Pot begs to explore the wider world. Reluctantly, the mother lets her pot outdoors, and its adventures include meetings with a merchant and even the royal family. Little Pot manages to roll away from each encounter with valuable stolen goods tucked inside her lid, but after her petty thefts are discovered, she receives a stinky comeuppance that is sure to please read-aloud crowds. Folklorist MacDonald's briskly paced text brims with repetitive phrases that evoke the sounds and rhythm of Little Pot's tumbling, rolling movement, and Arzoumanian's richly hued, stylized acrylics, bordered with Islamic motifs, add subtle cultural detail and help leaven the heavy messages about right and wrong behavior. Match this with the tale about the gingerbread man for a multicultural story hour about mischievous runaways. Gillian Engberg.
• Speak, Bird, Speak Again: Palestinian Arab Folktales by Ibrahim Muhawi and Sharif Kanaana.
Book Description
Were it simply a collection of fascinating, previously unpublished folktales, Speak, Bird, Speak Again: Palestinian Arab Folktales would merit praise and attention because of its cultural rather than political approach to Palestinian studies. But it is much more than this. By combining their respective expertise in English literature and anthropology, Ibrahim Muhawi and Sharif Kanaana bring to these tales an integral method of study that unites a sensitivity to language with a deep appreciation for culture.
As native Palestinians, the authors are well-suited to their task. Over the course of several years they collected tales in the regions of the Galilee, Gaza, and the West Bank, determining which were the most widely known and appreciated and selecting the ones that best represented the Palestinian Arab folk narrative tradition. Great care has been taken with the translations to maintain the original flavor, humor, and cultural nuances of tales that are at once earthy and whimsical. The authors have also provided footnotes, an international typology, a comprehensive motif index, and a thorough analytic guide to parallel tales in the larger Arab tradition in folk narrative. Speak, Bird, Speak Again is an essential guide to Palestinian culture and a must for those who want to deepen their understanding of a troubled, enduring people.
• Forty Fortunes: A Tale of Iran by Aaron Shepard and Alisher Dianov (illus).
Book Description
The royal treasure has been stolen, and not even Iran's finest diviners can locate the forty fortunes. When the King turns to Ahmed to find the treasure, Ahmed is certain that he will be thrown in prison. Yes, he was able to locate a missing ring, but that was pure luck, and he knows that he has no real fortunetelling skills. He has only forty days to find the forty fortunes. Will he find a way to locate the treasure-and save himself-before the time is up? This retelling of a traditional Iranian folktale, charged with humor and action, is paired with fabulous jewel-toned illustrations.
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(This web page updated 12/28/05; 2/6/06; 2/13/06; 12/27/07)