TIBET - TIBETAN STORIES AND FOLKLORE
(excerpts from posts)
(If you want to use any of the material listed below, be sure to obtain permission from the copyright holder if the material is not in the public domain)

1) Juvenile Bibliography
http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/mulchinese.htm

2) The Miracle of Purun Bhagat is available at
http://www.mowglis.org/Junglebook/purun_bhagat.html
and other sites online.

3) I came across this Tibetan Folk Tale tonight and thought you might enjoy reading it.
http://dragonsunlimited.tripod.com/index-27.html

4) This is my favorite persistence story. It's from Tibet and has been published as a picture book. he author's illustrations are lush and show many aspects of Tibetan life along the way )stupas, prayer flages, the mountains and rivers--no Chinese soldiers)

All the Way to Lhasa: a tale from Tibet
retold by Barbara Helen Berger
http://www.bhberger.com
© 2002, Philomel Books, NY
Long ago in the land of Tibet, an old woman sat by the road to the holy city of Lhasa.
A horse and rider came galloping up to her.
How far is it to Lhasa?2
Very far, said the old woman, you1ll never make it there befoe night.
But the rider kicked his horse and galloped off as fast as a horse can run.
Then a boy came walking along with his yak, one foot in front of the other.
How far is it to Lhasa?2
Very far, said the old woman, but you can make it there before night.
So the boy gave his yak a gentle tug and kept on walking.
One foot in front of the other, he climbed a steep and windy slope.
He thought the torrents would sweep him away.
He thought he would be lost in the snows.
He thought the dark would come and he would never make it to the holy city of Lhasa.
But still the boy kept walking, on and on with his steady yak, one foot in front of the other.
Then he came to a fallen horse and rider. They had run so hard, they could run no more. And they lay there snoring.
The boy wanted to lay down, too. But he gave his yak a gentle tug and kept on walking.
Then, in the last rays of sun before night, he herad deep horns calling. He heard bells and drums.
Emaho! He had made it-one foot in front of the other, all the way to the holy city of Lhasa.
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5) The Goat and the Rock
Folk tale collected by Pleasant de Spain,
as adapted for tandem telling by Tom and Sandy Farley

There was once in Tibet a milk seller. Each morning he would collect goat's milk from a couple of farms and then deliver it to families in two villages. He would knock on the door; a milk pitcher and a few pennies were offered. He took the pennies and filled the pitcher from his large earthenware jug.

One morning as he made his way between the two villages, he paused to rest, setting his half full jug on a large rock. A goatherd was coming along the path with six or seven goats trotting along in front of him. He called to his friend, the milk seller, who gave a cheery call back. This calling startled the nanny goat in front, so she jumped off the path and knocked over the milk jug. It broke, spilling its contents into the dust.

"Look what your goat has done!" said the milk seller. "Now I can't deliver your milk."
"Don't you have another jug?" asked the goatherd.
"No. And I earn so little at this job, that I barely feed my family as it is. I think you owe me a new jug."

The goatherd said, "I don't have much either. I would have to sell a goat to buy you a jug, and then I would have less milk to sell. I can't do that."

The milk seller and the goatherd agreed to take this dispute to a local judge who was respected for her wise decisions.

The judge listened to both men describe the events of the morning. Then she said, "The goatherd has done nothing wrong and he should not have to pay for a new jug. The milk vendor is equally innocent. Bailiff, go arrest the goat and the rock. A trial will be held at noon tomorrow."

Now the goat came willingly to the garden courtyard of the judge, but the rock resisted arrest. It took the bailiff and 20 strong men to bring the rock to court. Of course, everyone in the two villages heard the news, and by noon the next day, the courtyard was filled with people. Some were even sitting on top of one of the defendants. The judge whispered to the bailiff to close the gates, and she stood on a step to address the crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen, surely you must know that we have no laws by which to judge a goat or a rock. So, why have you come? Did expect me to make a fool of myself? Or worse, that I should make a mockery of the laws? Shame on you for such thoughts! For your disrespect of justice you will each be fined three pennies. The bailiff will collect your fine as you leave."

Some folks grumbled; others laughed, but everyone paid, because three pennies is not much money. After everyone had left, the bailiff counted the money. There was enough to buy a new jug for the milk vendor and to fill it with goat's milk.
Tom & Sandy F. 2/10/08
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(This web page updated 2/25/04; 2/10/08)