A poor woman had only one son. She worked hard cleaning houses and grinding grain for the well-to-do families in town. They gave her some grain in return and she lived on it. But she could never afford to buy nice clothes or toys for her son. Once, when she was going...
One day, an innkeeper came to Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berdichev. "Rabbi," he said. "Is a man permitted to defend his property?"
The rabbi said, "Of course. What needs defending?"
"My inn," said the man. "So you'll give me your blessing...
In Casablanca there lived a very rich and highly respected Jewish merchant, who had an only son. One day the merchant fell ill. He called to his son and said: "I wish to talk to you for it may well be that within a few days I shall die. What will you do, my son, with...
Indian Tale: A man and wife receive a visitor one rainy night. He praises them for welcoming him, and, little by little, teaches them how to share what they have. Miserliness is a habit that can be unlearned.
Once upon a time there were a man and his wife who had lived together for years, but they had no children to look after them in their old age. This was very sad for them, but they had no idea what to do about it. You can neither make nor order children, nor do they...
This tale is about a woman who lived in the Old City of Jerusalem about a century ago. Washing clothes for a family then was a chore of almost unimaginable difficulty. So after six hours of backbreaking labor, this pious housewife hung her laundry out to dry in the...
Central Asian (Khirghiz) Tale: The khan (leader) gives instructions on who is to follow him at his death. His white falcon lands on the shoulder of a poor shepherd, who turns out to be a wise and just leader. The shepherd chooses a wife by declaring a contest of riddles. Wisdom and kindness are not the province of the elite alone.
Everything in life is a circle. Everything is alive—the animals, the birds, the plants of Earth and the plants of the seas, the water, the air and the stones—and everything must be respected. All things are part of Earth, which gives us everything we need. When we...
One of the disguises which Pele, the goddess of fire, was fond of assuming was that of an aged hag. In fact, it was hardly a disguise at all, for Pele was as old as the hills themselves; besides her quick tem-per and natural jealousy had furrowed her face with deep,...
Once, long ago, the Buddha was born as a little parrot. One day a storm fell upon his forest home. Lightning flashed, thunder crashed, and a dead tree, struck by lightning, burst into flames. Sparks leapt on the wind and soon the forest was ablaze. Terrified animals...
