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(Bilingual English-Pashto edition) When a boy visits another village, he is amazed to find the people terrified of something that - just because they have not seen it before - they mistake for a terrible, dangerous animal. Using his own knowledge and by demonstration, the boy helps the villagers 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 lives. One of many tales from the body of Sufi literature collected by Idries Shah, this one is presented here as part of his series of books for young readers. This is the series' second book to be illustrated by Rose Mary Santiago, following the award-winning bestseller The Farmer's Wife.
About the author
Idries Shah spent much of his life collecting and publishing Sufi classical narratives and teaching stories from oral and written sources in the Middle East and Central Asia. The tales he retold especially for children are published by Hoopoe Books in beautifully illustrated editions and have been widely commended - by Western educators and psychologists, the U.S. Library of Congress, National Public Radio and other media - for their unique ability to foster social-emotional development, thinking skills and perception in children and adults alike. Told for centuries, these stories express universal themes from the cultures that produced them, showing how much we have in common and can learn from each other. As noted by reviewers, such stories are more than just entertaining; familiarity with them provokes flexibility of thought, since each one contains levels of meaning that unfold in accordance with an individual's experience and understanding.
