Viii. The Measure Of Rice : * "Jataka Tales", Ellen C. Babbit, [1912], VIII THE MEASURE OF RICE AT one time a dishonest king had a man called the Valuer in his court. The Valuer set the price which ought to be paid for horses and elephants and the other animals. He also set the price on jewelry and gold, and things of th...
Xv. The Ox Who Envied The Pig : * "Jataka Tales", Ellen C. Babbit, [1912], XV THE OX WHO ENVIED THE PIG ONCE upon a time there was an Ox named Big Red. He had a younger brother named Little Red. These two brothers did all the carting on a large farm. Now the farmer had an only daughter and she was soon to be married. Her mother...
Xvii. The Crab And The Crane : * "Jataka Tales", Ellen C. Babbit, [1912], XVII THE CRAB AND THE CRANE IN the Long Ago there was a summer when very little rain fell. All the Animals suffered for want of water, but the Fishes suffered most of all. In one pond full of Fishes, the water was very low indeed. A Crane sat on the bank...
Ix. The Foolish, Timid Rabbit : * "Jataka Tales", Ellen C. Babbit, [1912], IX THE FOOLISH, TIMID RABBIT ONCE upon a time, a Rabbit was asleep under a palm-tree. All at once he woke up, and thought: "What if the world should break up! What then would become of me?" At that moment, some Monkeys dropped a cocoanut. It fell down...
Xviii. Why The Owl Is Not King Of The Birds : * "Jataka Tales", Ellen C. Babbit, [1912], XVIII WHY THE OWL IS NOT KING OF THE BIRDS WHY is it that Crows torment the Owls as they sleep in the daytime? For the same reason that the Owls try to kill the Crows while they sleep at night. Listen to a tale of long ago and then you will see why. Once...
Vii. The Quarrel Of The Quails : * "Jataka Tales", Ellen C. Babbit, [1912], VII THE QUARREL OF THE QUAILS ONCE upon a time many quails lived together in a forest. The wisest of them all was their leader. A man lived near the forest and earned his living by catching quails and selling them. Day after day he listened to the note...
Iii. The Merchant Of Seri : * "Jataka Tales", Ellen C. Babbit, [1912], III THE MERCHANT OF SERI THERE was once a merchant of Seri who sold brass and tinware. He went from town to town, in company with another man, who also sold brass and tinware. This second man was greedy, getting all he could for nothing, and giving...
Title Page : * "Jataka Tales", Ellen C. Babbit, [1912], JATAKA TALES RE-TOLD BY ELLEN C. BABBITT WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY ELLSWORTH YOUNG New York The Century Co. 1912 Scanned By Eliza Fegley At Sacredspiral.com. Additional Formatting By John Bruno Hare , March, 2004. This Text Is In The Public Domain In The US...
I. The Monkey And The Crocodile : * "Jataka Tales", Ellen C. Babbit, [1912], I THE MONKEY AND THE CROCODILE PART I A MONKEY lived in a great tree on a river bank. In the river there were many Crocodiles. A Crocodile watched the Monkeys for a long time, and one day she said to her son: "My son, get one of those Monkeys for me. I...
Xiii. The Princes And The Water Sprite : * "Jataka Tales", Ellen C. Babbit, [1912], XIII THE PRINCES AND THE WATER-SPRITE ONCE upon a time a king had three sons. The first was called Prince of the Stars. The next was called the Moon Prince and the third was called the Sun Prince. The king was so very happy when the third son was born...
Foreword : * "Jataka Tales", Ellen C. Babbit, [1912], FOREWORD Long ago I was captivated by the charm of the Jataka Tales and realized the excellent use that might be made of them in the teaching of children. The obvious lessons are many of them suitable for little people, and beneath the obvious there are...
Xi. The Elephant Girly Face : * "Jataka Tales", Ellen C. Babbit, [1912], XI THE ELEPHANT GIRLY-FACE ONCE upon a time a king had an Elephant named Girly-face. The Elephant was called Girly-face because he was so gentle and good and looked so kind. "Girly-face never hurts anybody," the keeper of the Elephants often said. Now one...
Xii. The Banyan Deer : * "Jataka Tales", Ellen C. Babbit, [1912], XII THE BANYAN DEER THERE was once a Deer the color of gold. His eyes were like round jewels, his horns were white as silver, his mouth was red like a flower, his hoofs were bright and hard. He had a large body and a fine tail. He lived in a forest...
Ii. How The Turtle Saved His Own Life : * "Jataka Tales", Ellen C. Babbit, [1912], II HOW THE TURTLE SAVED HIS OWN LIFE A KING once had a lake made in the courtyard for the young princes to play in. They swam about in it, and sailed their boats and rafts on it. One day the king told them he had asked the men to put some fishes ...
V. The Ox Who Won The Forfeit : * "Jataka Tales", Ellen C. Babbit, [1912], V THE OX WHO WON THE FORFEIT LONG ago a man owned a very strong Ox. The owner was so proud of his Ox, that he boasted to every man he met about how strong his Ox was. One day the owner went into a village, and said to the men there: "I will pay a forfeit...
Vi. The Sandy Road : * "Jataka Tales", Ellen C. Babbit, [1912], VI THE SANDY ROAD ONCE upon a time a merchant, with his goods packed in many carts, came to a desert. He was on his way to the country on the other side of the desert. The sun shone on the fine sand, making it as hot as the top of a stove. No man could...
X. The Wise And The Foolish Merchant : * "Jataka Tales", Ellen C. Babbit, [1912], X THE WISE AND THE FOOLISH MERCHANT ONCE upon a time in a certain country a thrifty merchant visited a great city and bought a great supply of goods. He loaded wagons with the goods, which he was going to sell as he traveled through the country. A stupid...
Iv. The Turtle Who Couldn't Stop Talking : * "Jataka Tales", Ellen C. Babbit, [1912], IV THE TURTLE WHO COULDN'T STOP TALKING A TURTLE lived in a pond at the foot of a hill. Two young wild Geese, looking for food, saw the Turtle, and talked with him. The next day the Geese came again to visit the Turtle and they became very well acquainted...
Xiv. The King's White Elephant : * "Jataka Tales", Ellen C. Babbit, [1912], XIV THE KING'S WHITE ELEPHANT ONCE upon a time a number of carpenters lived on a river bank near a large forest. Every day the carpenters went in boats to the forest to cut down the trees and make them into lumber. One day while they were at work...
Publisher's Note : * "Jataka Tales", Ellen C. Babbit, [1912], PUBLISHERS NOTE 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...
Xvi. Grannie's Blackie : * "Jataka Tales", Ellen C. Babbit, [1912], XVI GRANNY'S BLACKIE ONCE upon a time a rich man gave a baby Elephant to a woman. She took the best of care of this great baby and soon became very fond of him. The children in the village called her Granny, and they called the Elephant "Granny's Blackie...
Untitled : * This is a retelling of stories from the Jataka, the treasury of tales of Buddha's previous animal reincarnations. Babbitt wrote this with young adults and children in mind, but the simple language and sprightly black and white illustrations add appeal for readers of all ages, Buddhist or not...