Indian folk tales. When luck smiles

M, "Children's literature", 1988

“The children are huddled around a gray-bearded storyteller in a snow-white turban. It’s stuffy in the house, but here, in the courtyard, fenced with a blank wall, under the tropical Indian night sky with large stars and a bright moon, it’s easier to breathe. Grandfather’s speech flows smoothly and smoothly. Grandfather tells a fairy tale. At the same time, attention, delight, enthusiasm, and an incomparable feeling of joy from meeting the wonderful were imprinted on the children’s faces,” with these fabulous words begins Volume 3 of the series “Fairy Tales of the Peoples of the World” - “Fairy Tales of the Peoples of Asia.” The compiler of the volume and the author of the introductory article and notes is Nikulin Nikolai Ivanovich. Indian folk tales included in our audio book are taken from this volume: “Brother Ambe and Brother Rambe”, “The Stupid Crocodile”, “Once Upon a Time There Was a Sparrow”, “The Nightingale and the Cotton Bush”, “How the Sun, the Moon and The wind went to dinner”, “This is for that”, “Good Dhir Singh”, “Golden Fish”, “Pepper Seed”, “Poor Weaver”, “Three Princes”, “Who is afraid of whom?”, “Sant and Basant” , "Test of the Mind", "Stupid Brahmin", "Tenali Ramakrishna's Cat", "Tyani", "Son of the Pandit", "What did the bear whisper in your ear?", "Hard of Hearing", "The Light from the Temple", "The Man Who Went to seek your destiny”, “Sweets from the sky”, “The Rooster and the Cat”, “You don’t mind listening to a fairy tale, but I can’t stand hunger”, “The Hunter and the Crow”, “Ugly name”, “The Pea and the Bobok”. Mostly fairy tales are magical, about animals and everyday.
Animals in fairy tales talk and understand human speech, they help the positive hero. In many Indian tales you will sense a mocking attitude towards monkeys; they apparently reminded the storytellers of fussy and unlucky people. It is not for nothing that in Ancient India they were said to be “changeable, like the thoughts of monkeys.”
We love fairy tales no less. These are fairy tales in which supernatural forces are necessarily at work. All the interest in a fairy tale is focused on the fate of the positive hero.
Later, everyday tales appeared. They do not contain supernatural powers, magical objects or animals with magical powers. In everyday fairy tales, the hero is helped by his own dexterity, ingenuity, as well as the stupidity and slow-wittedness of his opponent. The hero of an Indian fairy tale, the intelligent and resourceful Tenali Ramakrishna, skillfully deceives the tyrant king. In everyday fairy tales there is a hero whom A. M. Gorky aptly called the “ironic successor,” the classic example of which can be Ivanushka, the fool from Russian fairy tales. He is stupid, narrow-minded, but luck accompanies him everywhere. In Indian folklore, such a hero is a stupid brahmana - a priest. He pretends that he is learned and smart, that he understands fortune-telling books, but in fact he shakes with fear every time he needs to show his art. But invariably, chance comes to his rescue every time, and the glory of a wise soothsayer is more and more firmly assigned to him. These are certainly funny tales.
The literature of every nation is rooted in oral folk art. The Indian epic poems Mahabharata and Ramayana are closely associated with Indian folklore. The authors of the ancient Indian collections of stories “Panchatantra” (five books of fables and stories) and “Jataka” drew motifs, plots and images of their works from folk tales. In the 11th century literary monument of the Indian poet Somadeva, “The Ocean of Tales,” there are over three hundred inserted stories: a fairy tale is intertwined with a myth, an anecdote, or a short story. Funny motifs from Indian fairy tales were also included in the huge collection “Ancient Tales,” which appeared in the 11th century in Japan.
Centuries pass, generations change, but interest in the fairy tale does not dry up. Let the most modern format - audio fairy tales - sound tempting in your home. Listen online, download and enjoy Indian folk tales!

“Brother Ambe and Brother Rambe” is an Indian folk audio tale about animals about resourceful mice who managed to outwit the cat, adapted by S. F. Oldenburg. "In one big house there lived a cat, and there were a lot of mice in the house. The cat caught mice, ate them and lived freely. A lot of time passed, the cat got old, and it became difficult for him to catch mice. He thought, he thought, how...

Indian folk audio tale "The Stupid Crocodile", translation by N. Tolstoy. A tale about animals: a predatory, stupid crocodile and a cunning jackal, who every time manages to outwit the crocodile and thereby save his life. “Once upon a time there lived a jackal in his hole near the river... And in the river there lived a crocodile. Every day he hid near the shore under the bushes in the hope that...

“Once upon a time there was a sparrow” - an Indian folk audio tale from the series “Tales of the Peoples of the World, Volume 3 - Tales of the Peoples of Asia, translation by G. Zograf. “Once upon a time there was a sparrow with a heifer, and there lived a king. The sparrow and the hen built a nest in the royal palace. The king lived in his chambers, and the sparrow and sparrow lived in their nest. Once the king dressed up in a new dress -...

“The Nightingale and the Cotton Bush” is an Indian folk audio tale about animals, arranged by S. F. Oldenburg, and tells about the habits of the nightingale in our tale. A fabulous explanation is given why nightingales never land on cotton bushes. The tale ends with the following words: “...The nightingale got angry and, when the birds flew away, he said to the cotton...

“How the Sun, the Moon and the Wind Went to Dinner” is an Indian folk legendary audio tale from the cycle “Tales of the Peoples of the World”, arranged by S. F. Oldenburg. The etymological Indian folk tale reflects the natural world of India. It is explained in a fabulous way why there is a scorching sun in India (“...from now on your rays will be burning, and...

Indian folk audio tale about animals “This is for that”, arranged by S. F. Oldenburg. “Once upon a time there lived two friends - a camel and a jackal, and then the jackal said to the camel: “On the other side of the river there is a sugar cane field. Let’s cross the river, you eat sweet cane, and I will catch some fish for myself, and we will have a good dinner.” The camel took the jackal on your back...

Indian folk magic audio tale "Good Dhir Singh", translation by A. and L. Barkhudarov, volume 3 "Tales of the Peoples of Asia". The fairy tale teaches kindness, through small actions of the heroes it highlights, separates good and evil. Once upon a time there lived a king. He was famous not for military victories, but for the construction of beautiful houses and temples. Good king!? He built the most beautiful palace. Same...

"The Golden Fish" is an Indian folk audio tale from the cycle "Tales of the Peoples of the World", translated by N. Gurov. A fairy tale about a greedy old woman and a weak-willed old man - a fisherman. Thanks to A.S. Pushkin - a plot known to all Russian fairy tale lovers. The audio fairy tale “Golden Fish” ends with these words: “... An old woman sits and weeps bitterly: I looked at her...

Indian folk magic audio tale "Pepper Seed", translation by N. Gurov, "Tales of the Peoples of Asia" - volume 3 of "Tales of the Peoples of the World". The mother had two hunter sons. One day they did not return home in the evening. The old woman was frightened - how could she live alone now: scared and hungry. A passing sorcerer gave her 6 peppercorns, ordered her to put them in a jug,...

"The Poor Weaver" is an Indian folk audio tale from the cycle "Tales of the Peoples of the World", volume 3 - "Tales of the Peoples of Asia", translated by G. Zograf. A magical fairy tale about magical assistant objects, about a gullible weaver and a deceiver and thief, an old woman who at the end of the fairy tale was taught a lesson by the poor weaver. He himself “...since then he was no longer in poverty.” To listen...

“Three Princes” is an Indian folk audio tale from the cycle “Tales of the Peoples of the World” - volume 3 “Tales of the Peoples of Asia”, translation by V. Balin. “In ancient times, there lived a king. He had three sons, one better than the other: brave, smart, and prudent. When the king grew old, he decided to leave his kingdom and live the rest of his days as a hermit in a holy monastery....

"Who's Afraid of Whom" is an Indian folk audio tale from the cycle "Tales of the Peoples of the World", translated by N. Gurov. A fairy tale about an evil spirit. “Not far from one village there grew a tall tree. On this tree for a long time lived a rakshasa - an evil spirit - a cannibal... One day, two women, two sisters, came there from the village and stood under the very tree for themselves...

Indian folk audio tale "Sant and Basant", translation by A. Barkhudarov, "Tales of the Peoples of Asia" - volume 3 of "Tales of the Peoples of the World". Once upon a time there lived a king and a queen, they had two sons. The elder was called Sant and the younger was Basant. It was a happy, loving family. In the queen's bedchamber, a bird built a nest, and two chicks hatched there. Caring birds fed...

"Test of the Mind" is an Indian folk audio tale - a parable from the cycle "Tales of the Peoples of the World", translated by G. Zograf. The young king had an old adviser - experienced and wise. "...The young king highly respected the adviser and did everything as he said. The other courtiers saw how the adviser was held in high esteem, and they were deprived of peace - envy tormented them. Everyone was vying with each other...

Indian folk audio tale "The Foolish Brahman" is about a lazy and cowardly Brahman. Brahman is a person from the upper priestly class in Ancient India. God Brahma is the highest deity of the Hindus. Goddess Bhavani (who was prayed to by the unlucky but lucky brahman) is a Hindu goddess, the guardian mother of the earth. Pandit is a scientist...

Indian folk audio fairy tale "Tenali Ramakrishna's Cat", translation by N. Gurov, "Tales of the Peoples of Asia" - volume 3 of "Tales of the Peoples of the World". About a resourceful poet and the need for wise decisions of rulers. “Many years ago, the smart and cheerful poet Tenali Ramakrishna lived at the court of the great king Krishnadevaraya. They say that he once called for...

Indian folk audio fairy tale "Pull" about a clumsy boy and a savvy rogue servant, translated by G. Zograf. “Once upon a time there was a boy. He was so simple-minded, slow-witted, he couldn’t stand up or turn around. They invited him once to a wedding. So his father sent a servant with him. And the servant was very smart. All the way he instructed the boy to be a guest. ..

Indian folk audio tale "The Son of a Pandit" (a pandit is a learned Brahman), translation by B. Kuznetsov. "At the court of King Pradip, poets and pandits were held in high esteem. Among them there was one pandit named Vidyadhar - the source of knowledge. Vidyadhar's father, grandfather and great-grandfather were court poets. After the death of his father, Vidyadhar took his place. But from his...

Indian folk audio tale "What did the bear whisper in your ear?" has a similar plot to the Russian folk tale "Two Comrades". "Two friends were walking through the forest. Suddenly they saw a bear. One, in fear, climbed a tree and hid in the foliage. The other remained in front of the bear without any protection. He fell to the ground and lay as if dead. He once heard that...

Indian folk audio fairy tale "Hard of Hearing" - an Indian interpretation of what a funny situation happens when people talking cannot hear each other. “There lived in a village a shepherd with his wife and his parents. And all four of them were hard of hearing. Once a shepherd was plowing a field, and two passers-by walked past. They asked him: “We need to go to Ramnagar. Which one is there...

Indian folk audio tale "The Light from the Temple", translation by G. Zograf. “There lived a rich man in one village, and opposite his house there was a pond. Once a poor man came to the rich man and asked for help. The rich man said: “If you stay in the pond all night, I’ll give you twenty rupees.” “I’ll do it,” said the poor man and made the rich man swear three times, that he will not refuse what he promised..."...

Indian folk magic audio tale "The Man Who Searched for His Destiny", arranged by S. F. Oldenburg. Once upon a time there lived a man. He had a wife and twelve children, but not a single rupee of money. The children were crying from hunger, and the parents did not know what to do. The man got angry with God and went to seek his destiny. In the forest he met a camel with...

Indian folk audio fairy tale "Sweets from Heaven", with a well-known international plot, incl. the plot of the Spanish fairy tale “When donuts fell from the sky”, translation by G. Zograf. One poor woman lived by spinning thread. She had a son. Once she gave him the threads to take to the market to sell. He walks and walks, and lo and behold, a lizard is sitting on the fence. Lizard...

Indian folk audio tale "The Rooster and the Cat". Once upon a time there lived a rooster. And a cat often ran into the house and always stole something from the kitchen. Every time the rooster cried ku-ka-re-ku at the sight of a cat, people came running and chased the cat away. The cat decided that she needed to lure the rooster to become her ally. She promised him that she would share the rooster...

Indian folk audio fairy tale "You wouldn't mind listening to a fairy tale", translated by G. Zograf - about a stingy housewife and a hungry passerby. Once upon a time there lived a husband and wife in the same village. They were very stingy. God forbid a passerby knocks on their door. They won’t feed him, won’t give him anything to drink, they’ll barely find a place for him to spend the night, and they’ll even force him to work. I knocked on them...

Indian folk magic audio tale "The Hunter and the Crow". The hunter had a crow. She fed from him, then flew away early in the morning and returned at night. She spent the whole day in the courtyard of the god Brahma. There she learned all the news and plans of Brahma and told the hunter what to do. No matter how hard Brahma tried to destroy the rice harvest and arrange...

Indian folk audio fairy tale "Ugly Name", translation by G. Zograf, "Fairy Tales of the Peoples of Asia" - volume 3 of "Fairy Tales of the Peoples of the World". There lived a peasant and his wife in the same village. His name was Thunthuniya. Every day, his wife told him: “What an ugly name you have!” Take something else - a beautiful one. One morning Thunthuniya left home to look for...

Indian folk magic audio tale "The Pea and the Bobok" - about good and evil, hardworking and lazy, modest and arrogant sisters. Once upon a time there lived two sisters. The eldest, Bobok, was grumpy and angry, and the youngest, Pea, was kind and affectionate. One day, Goroshina invited her sister to visit her father together. She replied that she didn’t want to for the sake of the old man in the heat...

The book is composed of fairy tales and folk stories of various peoples of India, selected from the books of the series, which was published by Sterling Publishers of India in English. The translation is accompanied by an introductory article and notes. For teachers and students, as well as a wide range of lovers of Indian culture.

So the wife carried a bundle of rice on her head, and the jug hung on a cord on her wrist. And they walked from her parents to their home. The husband walked in front, and the wife walked behind. And just when she descended into the hollow, who knows where the bhoot came from, took on human form and followed her. The woman thinks: “That’s right, this is some kind of Santal. He’s also going somewhere.” She didn't tell him anything, and he didn't tell her anything. And the sun was only two times shy of sunset - it was already nightfall.

There were bushes growing around the tree. The partridge climbed into them and began flapping its wings with all its might. The dogs rushed towards the noise with a loud bark: it seemed to them that a large animal was hiding in the bushes. The partridge fluttered - and straight to the hole where the jackal hid. The dogs are behind her. One dog smelled the jackal and raised its voice. Then the others came running, pulled the jackal out of the hole, and began to thrash him. The jackal howled in pain, but at least the dogs had nothing to do with it. Finally they left him half dead.

“What a joker,” the animals think. They will laugh at the jackal’s invention, repeating his poem after him, drink water and go home. At noon a tiger came to the lake. The jackal forced him to say a greeting. The tiger, like everyone else, laughed, repeated his stupid rhyme after the jackal and drank some water. And the jackal is bursting with joy.

Listen to me and resolve our dispute. This tiger is caught in a cage. I heard his terrible roar, took pity on him, removed the bolt from the cage and released the tiger to freedom. And now he wants to eat me. Tell me, is this fair and doesn’t there exist justice in the world?

The peasant heard someone calling him and was surprised: after all, there was no one in the field. Whose voice is this? Who could it be? Looking around, he went in the direction from which the call was heard, and when he came closer and peered, his surprise knew no bounds - in front of him lay a watermelon with a bundle on his head.

The boy obeyed and, when he climbed the tree, did as the witch taught him. But as soon as he stood with his foot on a dry branch, it immediately broke. And the witch was already standing under the tree with an open bag, and the boy fell straight into it. The witch quickly tied the bag and went home.

The younger brother had no idea about deception and cunning. He gave the box to his older brother. Everyone was tired during the day and, as soon as they lay down, they fell asleep. The elder brother did not sleep. He quietly woke up all his brothers except the youngest, and they left the forest. When the prince opened his eyes in the morning and discovered that the brothers had left, he became sad. But what can you do? He gathered his strength and set off on his way. A few days later he came to some city. There the king had a mute daughter. Heralds walked through the streets with drums and shouted loudly that the king would marry the princess to the one who would force her to speak. And anyone who tries and fails will be sent to prison. The prince heard the heralds and thought: there is no need to rush into anything. So he decided to stop at an inn.

The elder began to pour wheat into the pot. It pours and pours, but never fills to the top. He added more and looked - but the pot remained empty. Then the elder took a large scoop and began to quickly scoop up the wheat from the bin. An hour passed, two, three: the elder poured wheat into the pot, and it was still almost empty! The headman had to rake out all the wheat from the barn in order to somehow fill the pot. The elder was out of breath, sweat was pouring off him. Because of greed and malice there is no face on him: such a tiny pot, but it contained all his wheat! Here, of course, it couldn’t be done without witchcraft! The elder is sorry to part with his wheat, but he remains silent and does not open his mouth. And what's the use of talking? He promised it himself!

Indian fairy tales, these wonderful fruits of folk wisdom and imagination, go back to ancient times. Even before our era, Indian writers wrote down folk tales and compiled so-called “fairy tale collections” from them, which sometimes included excerpts from literary works, and perhaps even stories of their own composition. For centuries, fairy tales were not only passed on from mouth to mouth in the diverse languages of India, but also passed from one book to another, often undergoing literary adaptation. New fairy tales were created and recorded; in old fairy tales the plot underwent various kinds of changes; sometimes two or three fairy tales merged into one, or, on the contrary, one fairy tale split into two or three independent stories. Indian fairy tale collections were translated into the languages of other peoples, and the translators, in turn, made many changes to the text - they omitted one thing, added another, and remade a third.

Like all living things, the Indian fairy tale has changed throughout its long life, varied in form and plot, dressed in many different clothes, but has not lost either youth or beauty.

The Indian fabulous treasury is inexhaustible, its contents are immeasurably rich and multifaceted. Let's look into it, and before us, reflected in the mirror of folk art, will pass representatives of all strata of Indian society - princes and artisans, Brahmans and warriors, merchants and peasants, judges and hermits. Along with people, we will see fantastic creatures and animals here. It must be said, however, that fantasy does not play a big role in Indian fairy tales. Their authors clearly prefer to talk about the real world, and they use the animal world for disguise. Animals in fairy tales, while maintaining their traditional properties (snake - anger, donkey - stupidity, fox - cunning, etc.), serve to expose human vices and social injustice.

Indian fairy tales depict life as it really is, but at the same time indicate how it should be. As in real life, vice is not always punished in fairy tales, and virtue does not always triumph. But the fairy tale always says that vice must be punished, that virtue must triumph. And if in some fairy tales we see how the strong overcome the weak, then others teach us to defeat brute force with reason and friendly mutual assistance. So, in “Tales of a Parrot” a frog, a hornet and birds united and defeated an elephant.

Tales directed against the ruling classes, rich merchants, brahmans and dervishes are sharp and expressive. From the fairy tale “How the Badshah Learned His Worth,” the reader learns that the price of a monarch is a penny, and in another fairy tale “About the Raja and His Vizier” - that his subjects treat him no better than he treats them. The king, deposed by the people, acting under the guise of a frog, does not hesitate to destroy his subjects by calling on a snake for help; but the help of strangers is a double-edged sword, and the overthrown ruler barely manages to save his skin.

The Tsar is entirely in the hands of his courtiers and it is not for nothing that he tries to surround himself with family and friends (the fairy tale “About the Princess and Khuma”). Listening to the advice of one court party, he rewards the petitioner; on the denunciation of another, he kills him (the fairy tale “About a Brahman, a Lion, a Goose and a Crow”).

We see a very subtle, veiled satire on the aristocracy in the 8th chapter of “Tales of a Parrot”. At first glance, it seems as if the nobleman depicted in it is an exceptionally selfless person: he agreed to give the poor man not only enormous wealth, but also his life. However, this nobleman is the state treasurer, which means he could freely dispose of government gold, and therefore his generosity is worth little. The nobleman’s willingness to sacrifice his life is also deceptive: he managed not only to stay alive, but also to gain even more honor and glory.

It should be noted, however, that among the fairy tales there are also those in which the monarch is glorified and loyal ideas are preached. This is, for example, the 4th chapter of “Tales of a Parrot”. True, it is highly doubtful that the ideas expressed in it are the fruit of the author’s deep convictions. When reading the original or translated works of writers of feudal India, one should not forget the conditions under which these works were created. Their authors were mostly “court poets” and were completely dependent on the sovereign and his entourage, receiving remuneration for their work from the treasury, often in the form of a monthly salary. It is clear that they were forced to please their employers, in whose hands their well-being and even their lives lay.

Nevertheless, we see in many fairy tales both disguised and even overt satire on rulers and court nobility. More than once one encounters in them the image of a deceived and defeated king, sometimes appearing in the mask of a tiger or the “king of beasts” - a lion. Fairy tales are often told that only flatterers and sycophants manage to maintain their position at court, and those who do not know how to flatter may lose their lives (fairy tales “About the Tiger, the Wolf and the Fox”, “About the Lion and His Subjects” and others) .

The tales of merchants, moneylenders and other moneybags are sharply portrayed negatively. So, for example, in “Tales of a Parrot” we read about a merchant who, in a moment of melancholy, gave away his wealth to the poor, but then joyfully pounced on the gold again and destroyed the barber with false testimony in court. The tales “About a Merchant and His Friend” and “About the Sage, the Badshah and the Seller of Incense” feature merchants who betrayed the trust of their friends; in the fairy tales “About the Merchant and the Porter” and “About the Vyzhige and His Servant” - people exploiting the poor. But the poor are rebellious. They are indignant and punish their offenders. The porter, realizing that his employer has deceived him, breaks his fragile burden; the servant beats the master-burner with a stick and takes his hard-earned money from him.

It is interesting to note that in Indian folklore there are many proverbs and sayings castigating merchants: “A merchant will rob his friend”; “I plowed the field, and the merchant filled the granary”; “Trust the tiger, the snake, the scorpion, but don’t trust the merchant’s word”; “The merchant buys sugar, and if prices fall, he will sell his wife too” and others.

There are also a large number of proverbs and sayings ridiculing brahmanas (priests). Here are some of them: “Idols listen to chants, and brahmanas eat sacrifices”; “The gods are false, the brahmanas are unclean”; “People’s grief is a brahman’s gain”; “The peasant plows, the Brahman begs.”

In fairy tales, both brahmans and dervishes (religious ascetics - Muslims) are ridiculed. The Parrot's Tales features a Brahman who got his wife by deception, a Brahman blinded by greed, and religious ascetics who violated their vow of chastity. In the fairy tale “About a Monk and Four Crooks,” a monk, a superstitious fool, is ridiculed. The tale “About the Sparrows and the Dervish” is accompanied by an expressive characterization that exposes the baseness of the dervishes. The fairy tale “About the Pious Cat” depicts, again in an animal mask, a pious pilgrim and his overly gullible companions.

Authors of fairy tales are often skeptical of representatives of the court and administration. So, in “Tales of a Parrot” we see a judge who, forgetting about his duties, tries to get a beauty. The class essence of the court is depicted in a fairy tale in which a judge convicts a barber based on the false testimony of a merchant. In “Tales of a Parrot” there is also a kotwal - a police chief who is trying to take possession of a beautiful woman by deception, and a sharp satire on the security police: a cat hired to exterminate mice that are disturbing a tiger, only scares them, but does not catch them, knowing that if the mice disappear , she will be fired as unnecessary. In the fairy tale “The Fakir and the Mice,” the village headman and the tax collector try to deceive a beggar fakir.

Common people play a big role in Indian fairy tales. “Everyone who works brings benefit to people,” says the fairy tale “About the Horse and the Will.” The sun-blackened working hands of a poor peasant woman are more beautiful than the sleek hands of noble parasite women (the fairy tale “About Three Noble Women and a Beggar Old Woman”).

Once upon a time there lived a king. He had four sons. Three sons were married, but the youngest had not yet been married. That's when the king died. The eldest son sat on the throne. He loved his younger brothers more than life itself. And his wife was angry and envious. She cared little about the princes, and the youngest was in the care of the eldest - so she began to mock him every day. Whatever he asks, she answers him:
- Go, get yourself Anarzadi - a girl made of pomegranate. Let her dance to your tune.
The prince could not stand her treatment. He took it and left quietly, wherever his eyes were looking. “If I find Anarzadi, then I’ll return home with her,” he thought. “And without that, no one will see me here.”

There lived a peasant and his wife in the same village. They had no children. The peasant worked in the field all day, returned home in the evening, had dinner and went back to the field. He had no time to grieve that his assistant was not growing up. But his wife lamented about it day and night.
One day at noon she was getting ready to go to the field to bring lunch to her husband and thought: “Oh, if we had a son, I wouldn’t have to go to the field! He would take lunch to his father.”
So, thinking sadly, she headed towards the door, but suddenly heard the watermelon lying in the corner quietly say:
- Give me lunch, mother, I’ll take it to father! At first the woman was scared, but then she gathered her courage and answered:
- After all, you are so small, it will be hard for you. But the watermelon insisted:
“Put a bundle of food on my head, mother, and tell me where to go and how I can recognize my father.”

In one village there lived a weaver. He had a wife - a simple and hard-working woman. Both of them worked without straightening their backs, and did not get out of poverty. This is what the wife says to her husband:
- Get ready to hit the road, see foreign lands. Maybe you'll have some luck there.
The weaver agreed and began to get ready for the journey. His wife gave him a large thick flatbread to take with him. With this flatbread the weaver set off to foreign lands. He walked and walked and went far. It was late in the evening. The weaver is tired. Thinking - where to relax? He looks and there is a well by the road. He went to the well, washed himself and sat down. He had been hungry for a long time. He took out his flatbread, broke it into four pieces and began to think out loud:
Should I eat one or two at once? Or three, or all four?

Do not make friends with an evil person, he only brings evil.
Near the road leading to the city of Ujjaini, there grew a large tree, and two old friends lived on it - the Stork and the Crow. The tree was branchy, and travelers passing along the road always stopped and rested in its shade.
It happened one day that a hunter was passing along the road. The day was hot, the hunter was tired, and he wanted to rest. He lay down under a tree, put his bow and arrows next to him and soon fell asleep.

In one big house there lived a cat, and there were a lot of mice in the house. The cat caught mice, ate them and lived freely. A lot of time passed, the cat grew old, and it became difficult for him to catch mice. He thought and thought about what to do, and finally came up with an idea. He called the mice and said:
- Mice, mice, that's why I called you. I confess that I lived poorly and offended you. I'm ashamed, I want to change. I won't touch you. Run freely, and don’t be afraid of me. I demand one thing from you: every day, walk past me twice, one after the other, and bow to me, and I will not touch you.
The mice were glad that the cat would not touch them, and happily agreed. The cat sat down in the corner, and the mice began to pass by him one after another: they passed and bowed to him. And the cat sits quietly.

Never make friends with someone you don’t know who he is or what his habits are.
There is a rock on the bank of Bhagirathi called the Rock of Vultures. At the top of this rock stands a large, spreading tree. Vultures once lived here, which is why the rock got its name. But time passed, the birds died, and only one old Vulture, named Dzharadgav, remained alive. From old age, Grif had long ago become blind, his claws became dull, and he could no longer get food for himself.
And then one day the birds that lived on the same tree, taking pity on Jaradgav, said to him:
- Come on, Jaradgav, let's do this: you will look after our children when we fly somewhere, and we will bring you food and feed you. And you will be full, and our children will be under supervision.

Once upon a time there lived an old witch. She walked around the world, looked for little children and ate them. One day she was walking through the forest and at the foot of the mountain in a large clearing she saw a shepherdess with a herd of goats. The shepherd boy was a handsome, healthy boy.
The witch came up to him and said:
- May your life be long, son! Get me some fruit from this tree.
- How can I get it if I don’t know how to climb trees? - the boy answered.
“Stand with your foot on a dry branch, and grab the green one with your hand,” said the witch.

There lived a brahman in a village, and he had a wife. They lived a long time and even began to grow old, but they still had no children - neither a son nor a daughter. They were very sad about it. Finally, the brahmana says to her husband:
- Go to the Ganga, plunge into its holy waters. Maybe then God will help our grief.
The brahman listened to his wife's words, thought and began to get ready for the journey. I took some money with me, tied the food in a bundle and went.
And this brahmana had a lover, a young brahman from the same village. And so, when her husband left for the Ganges River, the Brahmana got into the habit of running every evening to her lover on a date, and they kissed and made love in a secluded corner until the morning.