Ellen C. Babbitt's Collection

This book contain collection of 39 Short Stories:

The Monkey and the Crocodile
How the Turtle Saved His Own Life
The Merchant of Seri
The Turtle Who Could n't Stop Talking
The Ox Who Won the Forfeit
The Sandy Road
The Quarrel of the Quails
The Measure of Rice
The Foolish, Timid Rabbit
The Wise and Foolish Merchant
The Elephant Girly-face
The Banyan Deer
The Princes and the Water-Sprite
The King's White Elephant
The Ox Who Never Envied the Pig
Grannie's Blackie
The Crab and the Crane
Why the Owl Is Not King of the Birds
The Girl Monkey and the String of Pearls
The Three Fishes
The Tricky Wolf and the Rats
The Woodpecker, Turtle, and Deer
The Golden Goose
The Stupid Monkeys
The Cunning Wolf
The Penny-Wise Monkey
The Red-Bud Tree
The Woodpecker and the Lion
The Otters and the Wolf
How the Monkey Saved His Troop
The Hawks and their Friends
The Brave Little Bowman
The Foolhardy Wolf
The Stolen Plow
The Lion in Bad Company
The Wise Goat and the Wolf
Prince Wicked and the Grateful Animals
Beauty and the Brownie
The Elephant and the Dog




About the Author:


The Jataka Tales contain deep truths, and are calculated to impress lessons of great moral beauty. The tale of the Merchant of Seri, who gave up all that he had in exchange for a golden dish, embodies much the same idea as the parable of the priceless Pearl, in the New Testament. The tale of the Measures of Rice 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, illustrates self-sacrifice of the noblest sort. The tale of the Sandy Road is one of the finest in the collection.


And he adds that these tales "are, as everyone must admit, nobly conceived, lofty in meaning, and many a helpful sermon might be preached from them as texts."


The Jatakas, or Birth-stories, form one of the sacred books of the Buddhists and relate to the adventures of the Buddha in his former existences, the best character in any story being identified with the Master.


These legends were continually introduced into the religious discourses of the Buddhist teachers to illustrate the doctrines of their faith or to magnify the glory and sanctity of the Buddha, somewhat as medieval preachers in Europe used to enliven their sermons by introducing fables and popular tales to rouse the flagging interest of their hearers.