Book Description

The 48 Folk-Tales in this book hail from the South East Asian land-locked country of Laos. Herein are stories like The Enchanted Mountain, The Spirit-Guarded Cave, The Monkeys and the Crabs, The Origin of Lightning (a tale which seems to be endemic amongst all the world’s cultures,) The Faithful Husband, The Cheating Priest and many more children’s stories which cover Romance and Tragedy, Temples and Priests, Moderation and Greed, Parables and Proverbs and The Wonders of Wisdom. There is also a small collection of Stories which went Astray. When these were first gathered by Katherine Neville Fleeson, the country was a part of the kingdom of Siam, and are uniquely South East Asian in their charm and complete novelty. Until the translator of this volume collected these stories, they were even unwritten, with a single exception which was found in an ancient Laos manuscript. They are, and have been, orally preserved in the provinces which constitute the Laos country, just as they have been handed down from generation to generation, with slight variations in words or incidents. In older times, village elders would tell the stories at their merrymakings around the camp-fires and within their primitive houses, to amuse and instruct the youth and children. However, with the advent of the electronic age, this tradition is being lost, and the more the pity for it. To the Scholar, who is a student of the world's Folk-Lore, you may be assured that you have here a small window in history with the tales of Laos, unobscured, just as they were told when this volume was published in 1899.