"Fatima's life is beset with what seems to be disasters. Her journey leads her from Morocco to the Mediterranean, Egypt, Turkey and, finally, to China. It is in China that she realizes that what seemed at the time to be really unfortunate events were an integral part of her eventual fulfillment."--Jacket flap
Dari version available in the Bates catalog.
Pashto version available in the Bates catalog.
Because she fails to follow the precise instructions given to her by Arif the Wise Man, The Queen of Hich-Hich gives birth to a half-boy. That Neem is able to make himself complete by an act of cleverness, negotiation, and compromise teaches children more than the expected, usual lesson of bravery.--publisher
Dari version available in Bates catalog
Pahsto version available in Bates catalog
A small boy seeks and eventually finds his own name and is able to discard an old dream for a new and wonderful one. Among the many insights that this story introduces to children is the idea that it takes patience and resolve to achieve one’s goals in life. This is one of the many hundreds of traditional stories collected by Afghan author Idries Shah from oral and written sources throughout Central Asia and the Middle East.--publisher
Pashto version available in Bates catalog.
Dari version available in Bates catalog.
When a boy visits another village, he is surprised to find the townspeople terrified of something that—just because they have not seen it before—they mistake for a terrible, dangerous animal. With his own knowledge and by demonstration, the boy helps them overcome their fears. This story is part of an oral tradition from the Middle East and Central Asia that is more than a thousand years old. In an entertaining way, it introduces children to an interesting aspect of human behavior and so enables them to recognize it in their daily life. --publisher
Pashto version available in Bates catalog.
Dari version available in Bates catalog.
This is a cumulative tale of a woman’s efforts to retrieve an apple from a hole in the ground. Children will enjoy learning the highly predictable lines by heart. But when a surprise event changes the direction of the tale, their expectations will be jolted in a most amusing way, and they will have learned its valuable lessons about the nature of problem solving and discovery. This is one of the many hundreds of traditional stories collected by Afghan author and educator Idries Shah from oral and written sources throughout Afghanistan and surrounding areas.--publisher
Dari version available in the Bates catalog.
Pashto version available in the Bates catalog.
A Sufi teaching tale in which two very different princes find their hearts' desires: one in a wondrous, mechanical fish, the other in a magical wooden horse.
Dari version available in the Bates catalog.
Pashto version available in the Bates catalog.
A man tricks a young fox into believing that he will give him a chicken. The fox is trapped, but through ingenuity and perseverance, he escapes. Reading this story inspires children to face challenges directly, and even to use the obstacles in their paths to solve problems. This story belongs to the rich and ancient storytelling tradition of Central Asia and the Middle East. --publisher
Pashto version available in Bates catalog.
Dari version available in Bates catalog.
In this amusing story, an old woman encounters an eagle for the first time. Perplexed by its unfamiliar appearance, she decides to change it to suit her own ideas of what a bird should look like. Her efforts mirror a common pattern of human thought: altering the unfamiliar to make it acceptable. This tale is specially presented for children by the author and educator Idries Shah, who, for more than 30 years, collected stories from the Sufi tradition from oral and written sources. Told since ancient times throughout Central Asia and the Middle East, such tales are used to help foster greater mental flexibility and insight in people of all ages.. -- publisher
Pashto version available in Bates catalog.
Dari version available in Bates catalog.
A Sufi teaching tale of a chicken that has learned to speak as people do and spreads an alarming warning, which causes the townspeople to panic without first considering the messenger.
Pashto version available in Bates catalog
Dari version available in Bates catalog