Reading Notes: Tibetan Folk Tales Part A

Overall Impressions:

The start to every story felt like a fairy tale, "Once upon a time..." etc. These stories felt similar to Aesop's fables. Both stories involve animals with human-like characteristics and they set out to teach lessons and instill morals. It was interesting to see the similarities between Tibetan morals and those of our own.

These stories were easy and enjoyable to read. They incorporated tricksters and elements of magic which are two of my favorite story elements. They were all a good length. They were long enough to sell the story but not too long where you started to get lost or bored in all the specifics.

Likes/Dislikes:

I really enjoyed how each start to the story set the scene. It gave a clear picture of the location, time, and characters in the story. It is nice to have that initial set up before diving into the story.

I also enjoyed that the animals were the main proponents of the stories. It is fun to learn lessons on life through an animals perspective. I also enjoyed how the animals and humans interacted. It wasn't weird for them to interact with each other and there wasn't really any fear or timidness.

I also enjoyed seeing elements of this culture. I have little knowledge about this culture or these people so it was really interesting to see what they believe and value. I think it is even more interesting that the things they value in their culture are very similar to ours. It just reiterated the fact that we are all very similar even if we are from different locations and hold different beliefs.

Favorite Stories:

I really enjoyed a lot of these stories, but if I had to pick some favorites: The Tiger and the Frog, The story of the Donkey and the Rock, How the Fox Fell a Victim to His Own Deceit, and Covetousness. I liked all these stories for different specific reasons, but they all had elements of magic, humor, and quaint animal interactions. The twist in the Donkey and Rock story and the story telling style of Covetousness were my favorite aspects of this story unit.

(Source: Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook)

Bibliography: Tibetan Folk Tales, by A.L. Shelton with illustrations by Mildred Bryant (1925).