The Magic Drum and Other Favourite Stories

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Item Code: IDI625
Author: Sudha Murty
Publisher: Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd.
Edition: 2006
ISBN: 0143330063
Pages: 157
Cover: Paperback
Other Details 7.1"X 4.9
Fully insured
Fully insured
Shipped to 153 countries
Shipped to 153 countries
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More than 1M+ customers worldwide
100% Made in India
100% Made in India
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23 years in business
Book Description
Preface

India has a rich tradition of storytelling. Texts like the Kathasaritasagara, Panchatantra and Jataka are a rich storehouse of tales, which have been enjoyed by several generations of reader and listeners. These stories, full of humour and morals, are the ideal means to introduce the right values to young people.

If we look outside our country, we find all kinds of folktales that have been told to generations of children in every corner of the world. I have included a few such stories in this collection. Interestingly, while putting together these stories, I noticed that many Indian stores are about gods, curses and boons. They also often end with a marriage and the characters living happily after. Western stories, on the other hand, tend to emphasize logic and human intellect over other things, while middle-eastern ones have a lot of magic and supernatural elements.

I have tried to create a mix of these elements, though I have consciously left out stories, which have gods and goddesses and supernatural beings solving problems, or even those in which animals are given human qualities. My stories do not have animals, gods, miracles or curses. My own favourites, and these are ones I loved hearing many years ago, are about how men and women, boys and girls, land themselves in trouble and how they extricate themselves from it. They are about human emotions and everyday human activities.

Though these tales have been gathered from all over the world, while retelling them I have set them all in India so that the Indian child can relate to them. The people have Indian names and they live in ancient Indian kingdoms.

I have rewritten many stories, which I first heard as a child. Some others were told to me by people from other countries and some I have created myself.

I want to thank many people who have helped me to bring this book out, especially my publishers Penguin Books India.

Finally, I hope my readers, the children, will enjoy and remember them.

Back of the Book

Kings and misers, princes and paupers, wise men and foolish boys, the funniest and oddest men and women come alive in this sparkling new collection of stories. The clever princess will only marry the man who can ask her a question she cannot answer; the orphan boy outwits his greedy uncles with a bag of ash; and an old couple in distress is saved by a magic drum.

Sudha Murty's grandparents told her some of these stories when she was a child; others she heard from her friends from around the world. These delightful and timeless folktales have been her favourites for years, and she has recounted them many times over to the young people in her life. With this collection, they will be enjoyed by many more readers, of all ages.

Contents
Prefacexi
The Supermen1
A Fair Deal5
The Seed Of Truth9
Haripant The Wise12
The Last Laddoo16
The Tastiest Of All19
The Cunning Fruit22
Nine Questions For A Princess25
Dead Man's Painting28
The White Crow33
The Horse In The Burrow37
The Very Expensive Coconut40
The Wise King 44
A Bottle Of Dew48
Two Thieves51
The Best Friend57
Good Luck, Gopal60
Nakul's First Lesson65
Golden Silence 68
Emperor Of Alakavati72
The Case Of The Missing Necklace80
A Question Of Maths84
The Clever Brothers 87
The Lucky Purse90
Two Unforgettable Lessons96
United We Stand101
Where Did It Go?105
The Princess Who Was a Bird108
The Price Is Right112
A Lessons For The Uncles 115
A Bag Of Words120
Magic In The Air125
The Selfish Groom129
The Tired Horse132
A Minister's Test134
A Cure For Laziness137
The Magic Drum142
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