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''World Tales'', subtitled "The Extraordinary Coincidence of Stories Told in All Times, in All Places" is a book of 65 folk tales collected by
Idries Shah Idries Shah (; hi, इदरीस शाह, ps, ادريس شاه, ur, ; 16 June 1924 – 23 November 1996), also known as Idris Shah, né Sayed Idries el- Hashimi (Arabic: سيد إدريس هاشمي) and by the pen name Ark ...
from around the world, mostly from literary sources. Some of the tales are very current, others are less well known.


Content

Each story is preceded by a short introduction by the author, giving a brief history of the tale's literary mutations, or remarking on the strange similarities that versions exhibit across great geographical or historical distances. The collection has had a broad appeal. For instance Canadian poet P. K. Page cited it as the book she would give to a child, and author and storyteller Norah Dooley: "This is the book that turned my interest as an adult to folklore and inspired me to take up storytelling." and has become a widely used sourcebook of tales. Whilst Shah mentions many of the ancient and modern interpretations that have been placed on the tales, along with some of the theories of cross-cultural transmission, he himself interprets them little, writing in the introduction: The value that Shah put on folklore of this kind is clear, not only from the many volumes of tales that he published but also from books published by his children. The title alone of one of his daughter
Saira Shah Saira Shah (born 5 October 1964) is a British author, reporter and documentary filmmaker. She produces, writes and narrates current affairs films. Life Shah was born in London and raised in Kent, England. She was educated at Bryanston Schoo ...
's books, ''The Storyteller's Daughter'', gives some indication, while his son
Tahir Shah Tahir Shah ( fa, طاهر شاه, gu, તાહિર શાહ; ''né'' Sayyid Tahir al-Hashimi (Arabic: سيد طاهر الهاشمي); born 16 November 1966) is a British author, journalist and documentary maker of Afghan-Indian descent. ...
's book ''
In Arabian Nights ''In Arabian Nights'' (subtitled ''A caravan of Moroccan dreams'') is a travel book by Anglo-Afghan author Tahir Shah illustrated by Laetitia Bermejo. which takes up where his previous book ''The Caliph's House'' leaves off, recounting, among muc ...
'', itself an exploration of the power of the folktale, recalls:


Original illustrated edition

The book was first published in large format by
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Harcourt () was an American publishing firm with a long history of publishing fiction and nonfiction for adults and children. The company was last based in San Diego, California, with editorial/sales/marketing/rights offices in New York City a ...
with each tale illustrated. Originally Shah asked Ivan Tyrrell to find illustrations for the tales by the likes of
Arthur Rackham Arthur Rackham (19 September 1867 – 6 September 1939) was an English book illustrator. He is recognised as one of the leading figures during the Golden Age of British book illustration. His work is noted for its robust pen and ink drawings, ...
,
Kay Nielsen Kay Rasmus Nielsen (March 12, 1886 – June 21, 1957) was a Danish illustrator who was popular in the early 20th century, the Golden Age of Illustration which lasted from when Daniel Vierge and other pioneers developed printing technology to the ...
and
Edmund Dulac Edmund Dulac (born Edmond Dulac; 22 October 1882 – 25 May 1953) was a French-British naturalised magazine illustrator, book illustrator and stamp designer. Born in Toulouse he studied law but later turned to the study of art at the École ...
. Tyrrell instead suggested commissioning new work, Shah agreed to this and the idea was put to, and approved by, the publisher,
William Jovanovich William Jovanovich (1920 – 4 December 2001) was an American publisher, author, and businessman of Montenegro, Montenegrin descent. He served as the director of the publishing firm Harcourt (publisher), Harcourt, Brace & World from 1954 to 19 ...
. Thirty seven artists contributed. This edition is no longer in print; the
Octagon Press Octagon Press was a cross-cultural publishing house based in London, UK. It was founded in 1960 by Sufism, Sufi teacher, Idries Shah to establish the historical and cultural context for his ideas. The company ceased trading in 2014. Description ...
edition is text only. Agnes Perkins, writing in the ''
Children's Literature Association Quarterly ''Children's Literature Association Quarterly'' is a quarterly academic journal established in 1975 and an official publication of the Children's Literature Association. It is published by the Johns Hopkins University Press. The journal promotes ...
'' cited this "lavish" edition of ''World Tales'' as an example of books that bridge the gap between illustrated books of folktales published for the juvenile market which pay little attention to sources or to authenticity of tone and language and which supply none of the working tools developed for folklore scholarship which might lead readers to further study of tales from the oral tradition, and collections by folklorists concerned primarily with local variants and the unusual persistence of motifs which ignore questions of the value of the stories from a literary standpoint.


Examples of stories


List of stories

* Tales of a Parrot * Dick Whittington * Don't Count Your chickens *The Hawk and the Nightingale *Cenino the Tiny *Her Lover's Heart *The New Hand * The Mastermaid *The Hermit *The Maiden Wiser than the Tsar *The Travelling Companion *The Riddles *The Grateful Animals and the Ungrateful Man *The Value of a Treasure Hoard *
Patient Griselda Griselda (anglicised to Grizzel and similar forms) is a figure in European folklore noted for her patience and obedience. In literature In the most famous version of the Griselda tale, written by Giovanni Boccaccio , Griselda marries Gual ...
*How Evil Produces Evil *The Ghoul and the Youth of Ispahan *The Pilgrim from Paradise * The Blind Ones & the Matter of the Elephant * Anpu and Bata *God Is Stronger *The Happiest Man in the World * The Gorgon's Head * The Brahmin's Wife and the Mongoose *The Magic Bag *Catherine's Fate *The Desolate Island *Gazelle Horn *
Tom Tit Tot "Rumpelstiltskin" ( ; german: Rumpelstilzchen) is a German fairy tale. It was collected by the Brothers Grimm in the 1812 edition of ''Children's and Household Tales''. The story is about a little imp who spins straw into gold in exchange for a ...
*The Silent Couple *
Childe Rowland Childe Rowland is a fairy tale, the most popular version written by Joseph Jacobs in his ''English Fairy Tales'', published in 1890, based on an earlier version published in 1814 by Robert Jamieson. Jamieson's was repeating a "Scottish ballad", w ...
*The Tale of Mushkil Gusha *The Food of Paradise *The Lamb with the Golden Fleece *The Man with the Wen *The Skilful Brothers *The Algonquin Cinderella *The Kindly Ghost * The Ass in Panther Skin * The Water of Life *The Serpent * The Wonderful Lamp *Who Was the Most Generous? *
Cupid and Psyche Cupid and Psyche is a story originally from ''Metamorphoses'' (also called '' The Golden Ass''), written in the 2nd century AD by Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis (or Platonicus). The tale concerns the overcoming of obstacles to the love between P ...
*The Royal Detectives *Conflict of the Magicians *False Witnesses *The Cobbler who Became an Astrologer *The Two Travellers *
The Fisherman and His Wife "The Fisherman and His Wife" (Low German: ''Von dem Fischer un syner Fru'') is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in 1812 (KHM 19). The tale is of Aarne–Thompson type 555, about dissatisfaction and greed. It may be classified as ...
*Impossible Judgement *Hudden and Dudden and Donald O'Neary * Riquet with the Tuft * The Lost Camel *The Beggar and the Gazelle *The Apple on the Boy's Head *The Boots of Hunain *The Three Caskets *The Land Where Time Stood Still *The Man Turned into a Mule *The Fox and the Hedgehog *The Bird Maiden *The Slowest May Win the Race *The Three Imposters *Occasion


Reviews

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See also

*
The Idries Shah Foundation The Idries Shah Foundation (ISF) is an independent educational and cultural charity, set up by the family of the late thinker, writer, and teacher in the Sufi mystical tradition, Idries Shah, who wrote over three dozen books on topics ranging fr ...


References

{{Reflist


External links


The Idries Shah Foundation
web page on World Tales Collections of fairy tales Storytelling Books by Idries Shah Folklore 1979 books Lists of stories