The Tortoise and the Geese and Other Fables of Bidpai

Title

en_US The Tortoise and the Geese and Other Fables of Bidpai

Description

en_US Retold by Maude Barrows Dutton

Creator

en_US Dutton, Maude Barrows See all items with this value

Contributor

en_US Smith, E. Boyd

Date

2016-01-25T20:35:12Z

en_US 2012-10

en_US 2008

Date Available

2016-01-25T20:35:12Z

Date Issued

en_US 2008

Abstract

en_US Here is an on-demand reprint of the 1908 original by Houghton Mifflin. 124 pages have been reduced to 84 in this larger-format book (6 x 9). Thirty-four fables, mostly told in two or three pages apiece, together with twelve black-and-white illustrations. The stories here are thus offered individually, rather than in the story within a story framework usual for Bidpai. The monkey gets his tail caught in the board that is being split (5). Two traditional stories are particularly well told: The Gardener and the Bear (18) and The Ass, the Lion, and the Fox (71). Also well told is The Blind Man and the Snake (33). The blind horse-rider has grabbed a snake instead of his whip, and now he will not believe his riding friend who tells him that it is a snake and that he had better get rid of it. Other good stories include The Lean Cat and the Fat Cat (55), in which the former learns from the latter that the king's table is sumptuous. The lean cat's poor mistress warns him that he will do better to keep eating her broth. Unfortunately, this very day the king gets frustrated with too many cats around and delivers an edict that all cats in the palace will be hanged. The fat cat is smart enough to stay away, but the lean cat is apprehended immediately and killed. Also good is The King, the Hermit, and the Two Princes (58). The king hides much of his treasure from his dissolute sons and asks a trusted hermit friend to see that they experience want before they receive the treasure. After the king's death, the older son drives the younger out. The latter goes to the hermitage to seek his father's old friend. He learns the simple life and finds the treasure. His brother gets into a war, loses it for lack of money, and is killed. The generals deliberate over a good new king who will be peaceful and prudent. They decide on the younger son at the hermitage. Two of the best illustrations show the lion jumping into the well to confront his adversary (frontispiece) and the camel ready to be devoured by the lion and his three wicked counselors (80). This copy cost $.65 less than the hardbound version second hand.

Identifier

en_US 9781599152493

en_US 8787 (Access ID)

uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10504/83999

Language

en_US eng

Publisher

en_US Yesterday's Classics

en_US Chapel Hill, NC

Subject

en_US PN989.I5 T67 2008 See all items with this value

en_US Bidpai See all items with this value

en_US Title Page Scanned See all items with this value

Type

en_US Book, Whole