SILK ROAD LEGENDS - Eight eBooks containing children’s stories from countries along the Silk Route PLUS 9th ebook FREE Series

Oriental Folklore and Legend was originally published in a series of Folklore and Legends volumes by W.W. Gibbings between 1891 and 1905. The author/editor was unnamed, but the initials C.J.T. given after the preface are apparently those of one Charles John Tibbitts. The 25 tales in Oriental Folklore and Legend  originate from countries along the fabled Silk Route  from Arabia, Persia, India, Kalmykia, Central Asia and beyond and, as one would expect, they are infused with elements of Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, and Zoroastrian culture. Because of this rich cultural mix, the tales abound with magicians, viziers, cobblers who become astrologers, adventures by the score, and common men who best both Shahs and Kings. So, we invite you to curl up with this snippet of ancient Central Asian folklore and absorb yourself in Sinbad and Aladdin-like folk tales from yesteryear. The Kalmyk tales are of especial interest, both because of their contents and their oblique history. The extended Scheherazade-like Relations of Ssidi Kur is a märchen-cycle from the people of Buddhist Kalmykia. The Kalmykians migrated from southern Siberia to the northwest shore of the Caspian Sea in the 1600’s. They maintain strong historical connections to Tibet and Mongolia, mainly because Buddhism remains their national religion. During their “deportation” by the Russians [1943 – 1957], Kalmyk folk stories and tales kept alive the people’s hope of nation-hood and eventual repatriation. 10% of the publisher’s profit will be donated to Charities.  

We invite you to curl up with this volume and indulge yourself in the fifty-nine tales and stories that stretch back in time, almost to the great flood itself. Read about one-eyed, seven horned monsters that double as mothers-in-law, tricksters, illusionists, shape-shifters, ogres and even the origin of the meaning of fate itself.   The Uyghur people have origins that are as ancient as the Han Chinese, if not older. Originating in central China, they were slowly pushed further west until they settled in the Tarim Basin. But the Uyghurs are not just limited to East Turkestan and can also be found inhabiting the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, andUzbekistan. Smaller communities can also be found in Mongolia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Russia.   Because they have travelled so far and have encountered so many different cultures, it is therefore not surprising that Uyghur Folk-Lore is extensive, which when woven together in such a volume, results in a rich tapestry that can only be pleasing for the reader.   NOTE: The Uyghurs are an ethnic minority, who like the Tibetans, have been fighting for their independence for generations.   33% of the publisher’s profit from the sale of this book will be donated to UNICEF. 

To assemble this volume of 29 children’ stories from the sub-continent of India, Joseph Jacobs has selected the best from the Jatakas, the Bidpai, the Tales of the Sun, the Baluchi folk-tales, and the folk-tales of Kashmir. In this volume we find stories about Punchkin, the evil magician, and the quaint myth: "How Sun, Moon, and Wind went out to Dinner”, the magic fiddle, the broken pot, the tiger, the Brahman, the Jackal, and many more. In addition, the famous illustrator, John D Batten, has lent his excellent illustration skills to these stories. These stories are brought alive with 44 colour images, each evoking the sights and smells of ancient India. Each story commences with an illuminated drop capital letter, all of which bring added life to the already rich tales. In short, Jacobs has made this book a representative collection of all the fairy tales of India. It is only a further proof that fairy tales are something more than Celtic or Hindoo—they are human. So curl up with a sliver of the Indian sub-continent and lose yourself in a culture and lifestyle of the ancient, Eastern past. Soils and national characters differ, but fairy tales are often the same in plot and incidents, if not in style. Most of the 29 children’s tales in this volume of Indian fairy tales are known in the West in some form or other; but how can we account for their simultaneous existence in both Europe and Asia? Some have declared that India is the home of the fairy tale, and that all European fairy tales have been brought from thence by crusaders, Mongol missionaries, Gipsies, Jews, traders, and travellers. After all, India is on one branch of the fabled Silk and Spice Routes, over which Europeans and Asians have been travelling for several millennia. We should be prepared, within certain limits, to hold a brief for India. The common fairy stories of the children of Europe, which form a greater part of their stories as a whole, are derived from Indian tales. In particular, the majority of the Drolls, or comic tales and jingles, can be traced without much difficulty back to the Indian peninsula. Of the net profit from the sale of this book, 33% will be donated to the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal.  

The children’s stories and legends in this book originate from the plains of Armenia towered over by Mount Ararat, on which, the Bible states, Noah’s Ark rested after the flood. Here also is the traditional site of the Garden of Eden, and the four rivers that Genesis describes as rising in the Garden still flow through the land. Herein you will find 73 poems and stories and 12 Armenian legends including the key legends of Armenia—of Vahagn, King of Armenia,deified on account of his valour, of Princess Santoukhd, martyred by her father King Sanadroug for becoming a Christian, ofSemiramis’ love for Ara, so strong that she thought she could will him back to life. So curl up with this unique and exquisite piece of literature and be swept away by the passion of fourteen hundred years of Armenian poetry. Sitting astride an arm of the Silk Route, Armenia has been invaded and occupied at various times by Assyria, Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and the Seljuk Turks, to name but a few. In the fifth century, Armenia became the first country in the world to adopt Christianity as its national religion. Therefore, even a short outline of Armenian folklore and poetry must acknowledge the influences that have served to shape Armenian literature. These influences reflect the interwoven remnants of an intricate tapestry of ancient and modern cultures, legends, songs, and fragments of epics, creating a unique cultural and linguistic identity. Severed for many centuries from Western Europe by a flood of invasions, Armenian literature has not had the recognition that it deserves. In this volume, which is a mere sampler of Armenian literature, you will find poetry and laments that equal those of Shakespeare in their zeal and fervour. You will also find folk-songs that weep tears for the fate of Armenia, that cry out for freedom and liberty, that burst with the love of a woman for her man and of nightingales singing to babes in cradles.   10% of the profit from the sale of this book will be donated to charities by the Publisher.

Captivate yourself with the charm of these 18 children’s Jataka Tales. Let their quaint humour and gentle earnestness teach your children the wholesome lessons of life, among them the duty of kindness to animals. The Jataka Tales contain deep truths, and are calculated to impress lessons of great moral beauty to children – so needed in current times. Herein are the tale of the Merchant of Seri, who gave up all that he had in exchange for a golden dish, which embodies much the same idea as the New Testament’s parable of the priceless pearl. Also contained herein are the Tale of the Measures of Rice which illustrates the importance of a true estimate of values. The Tale of the Banyan Deer, which offered its life to save a roe and her young. This tale illustrates self-sacrifice of the noblest sort. Also the Tale of the Sandy Road is one of the finest in the collection to name but a few. The Jatakas, or birth-stories, form one of Buddhism’s sacred books. They relate the adventures of the Buddha. Carved railings around the relic shrines of Sanchi in Madhya Pradesh and Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh indicate that the birth-stories were widely known in the third century B.C. While some of the stories are based in Buddhist ideology, many are age-old fables, the flotsam and jetsam of folk-lore that have appeared under various guises throughout the centuries. At times they have been used merely as merry tales, and at other times they’re used as literature, as by Chaucer, who unwittingly puts a Jataka story into the mouth of his Pardoner when he tells the tale of “the Ryotoures three.” 33% of the publisher’s profit from the sale of this book will be donated to charity. YESTERDAY’S BOOKS FOR TODAY’S CHARITIES

Every country has its folk-lore tales that have always been a joy and pleasure to the children, not only of their own land, but of other lands as well. The 49 children’s stories in this book were told as the Tibetan folk sat around their boiling tea made over a three stone camp-fire. They have been handed down from father to son and from mother to daughter. Though often filled with their superstitious beliefs, through them all run a vein of humor and the teachings of a moral truths which is quite unexpected.   Herein are stories like: “The Wise Bat”, “The Tiger and the Frog”, “The Cony Who Got into Bad Company”, “The Story of the Donkey and the Rock”, “Story of the Foolish Head-Man”, “How the Fox Fell a Victim to His Own Deceit”, “The Ingratitude of Man” and many more.   These tales were gathered by Dr. A. L. Shelton on his trips among the Tibetans. He collected them as he joined Tibetan families around their camp-fires at night, and in their black tents high up in the Kunlun, Karakorum and Himalayan mountain ranges.   May these stories add a little to this pleasure and enjoyment everywhere, in whatsoever tongue they may be translated or in whatever land they may be read.   33% of the profit from the sale of this book will be donated to the Tibetan Centre in London for the support of Tibetan people in the UK.

This volume is appropriately titled Fairy Tales because something definitely ‘fairy’ occurs. There are forty four children’s stories of talking animals, flying horses, birds that magically change into beautiful maidens, quests to win the hand of a princess, magical objects, simple, yet brave, peasants, wizards, witches, dragons and dungeons, epic journeys, and loveable fools, giants, ogres and so much more.   The majority of these stories contain encounters with ‘Dews’, or Turkish supernatural beings, better known in the West as 'Genies.' Sometimes the Turkish Dews are also called 'Arabs', although we don’t know why. There are many other specifically Turkish elements and references in the stories, for which the glossary at the end of the book is of particular help. So this isn't simply an orientalised set of European Tales, but was drawn from an authentic Turkish oral storytelling tradition by Dr. Ignácz Kúnos . Plus, there are 17 colour plates and over 200 BnW illustrations exquisitely crafted by Willy Pogany. While our production is not as lavish as the original, it does contain facsimiles of the original illustrations.   This volume is a treasure chest of classic Eastern tales drawing on the rich folklore of Turkey. Forty-four Turkish Fairy Tales has not been in print for almost 100 years, mainly because the original edition had lavish production standards. On the used market, mint copies of the 1913 original can cost in the thousands.   Note: some of the illustrations could be considered unsuitable by 21st Century standards because they can be considered as caricatures with obvious ethnic stereotypes. However, in most cases, the illustrator is portraying imaginary creatures, which are supposed to be grotesque. Also to be remembered is the book was originally produced in 1913 when the world’s attitudes towards racial tolerance and acceptance were quite different to those of today.