The Yellow Ox — A Karaman Folk Tale
This tale was collected in the Karaman region of Turkey. It was told by Vahap Aras (born 1945 in Karaman, primary-school educated) and...
Mirza Mıhemede — A Muş Folk Tale
A short folk tale from the Muş region: the youngest of three brothers stays awake to guard the family’s apple tree, follows a thief...
A Şahmaran Tale from the Arabian Nights
An English translation of a long Şahmaran (serpent-queen) tale from the Turkish “Binbir Gece Masalları” (Arabian Nights)...
The Hungry Tiger — An Uyghur Buddhist Tale
An Old Uyghur Buddhist tale from the Altun Yaruk Sudur: three princes come upon a starving tigress in the forest, and the youngest gives up...
The Dung Beetle — An Anatolian Folk Tale
A dung beetle sets out to find a husband, insisting on being addressed by her grand rhyming name. An Anatolian animal tale collected by Pertev Naili Boratav.
Salt — A Turkish Folk Tale
A padishah asks his three sons how much they love him. The youngest answers: “as much as salt.” A Turkish folk tale collected by Naki Tezel.
Keloğlan Goes to Buy Nothing — An Anatolian Folk Tale
Keloğlan is sent to buy hiç — a word meaning both “nothing” and “salt.” A wordplay tale from the Anatolian Keloğlan cycle.
The Tailless Fox — A Khorasan Folk Tale
A fox loses his tail to an old woman’s pitch-smeared bowl, and must work backwards through a chain of creatures to win it back. A Khorasan chain tale.
The Anka Bird — A Khorasan Folk Tale
A div steals the jewelled pomegranates from a sultan’s tree each year. The youngest son follows him down a well into the world below. A Khorasan tale of the Anka bird.