Tales and Legends from India
Abstract
One of three sections of this 154 page paperback presents five tales from the Jataka (53). "The Hare in the Moon" tells of the self-sacrificing hare that jumps into the flames to be food for a beggar, who turns out to be the god Sakka. "The Ugly Prince and the Heartless Princess" is the story of a devoted but ugly prince who marries a beautiful princess. He and his father-in-law manage to hide his ugliness from her before and for a time after their marriage, but she finally sees him and flees back to her father. The prince, Kusa, comes to win her back and finally does so by conquering his father-in-law's attacking enemies. "The Crane and the Crab" is the usual KD story of the crab finding out the treacherous crane and punishing him. "Friends in Deed" is a version of the usual KD story of four friends. In this case the three are an antelope, a woodpecker and a tortoise. They extend themselves to free each other from a hunter. "Who Will Buy My Mangoes" is a story of devoted love of a prince who chooses a beautiful lower-class woman, marries her, and again wins her back when she has rejected him. There are several full-page black-and-white illustrations along the way.