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This collection of folktales from Zanzibar originally published in 1901. Folktales of Zanzibar is a collection of folklore from Zanzibar, an area of Tanzania in East Africa. The stories were translated from their native Swahili. These tales were told by natives, who heard them from their parents, who had the tales passed down to them by their ancestors. The reader has the opportunity to get acquainted with the ancient culture and legends of our planet. Folktales of Zanzibar contains of 10 folktales: The Monkey, the Shark, and the Washerman's Donkey The Hare and the Lion The Lion, the Hyena, and the Rabbit The Kites and the Crows Goso, the Teacher The Ape, the Snake, and the Lion Haamdaanee Mkaaah Jeechonee, the Boy Hunter The Magician and the Sultan's Son The Physician's Son and the King of the Snakes Feel and enjoy the spirit of East Africa!

A magnificent and indispensable portrayal of the rich folklore of the Islamic world. According to Islamic tradition, Allah created three types of beings: angels, made of light; humans, made of earth; and jinn, made of smokeless fire. Supernatural, shape-shifting, intelligent and blessed with free will and remarkable powers, jinn have over the ages been given many names - demon, spirit, ghoul, genie, ifrit and shaitan. Believed in by hundreds of millions of people throughout the world and from all faiths, jinn have played a particularly central role in the literature, culture and belief systems of the Middle East and the Islamic world. Legends of the Fire Spirits explores through time and across nations the enduring phenomenon of the jinn. From North Africa to Central Asia, from the Mediterranean to sub-Saharan Africa and beyond, this riveting, often chilling, yet reasoned book draws on ancient testimonies, medieval histories, colonial records, anthropologist's reports and traveller's tales to explore the different types of jinn, their behaviour, society, culture and long history of contact with humankind. It documents their links with famous figures in history such as King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba and illustrates the varied and vivid portrayals of jinn in world literature. In essence, Legends of the Fire Spirits demonstrates the colourful diversity of human culture and the durability of faith and is a magnificent and indispensable portrayal of the rich folklore of the Islamic world.

Many African stories, whether or not they are about Kwaku Ananse the "spider man," are called, "Spider Stories." This book is about how that came to be. The African storyteller begins: "We do not really mean, we do not really mean that what we are about to say is true. A Story, a story; let it come, let it go." And it tells that long, long ago there were no stories on earth for children to hear. All stories belonged to Nyame, the Sky God. Ananse, the Spider man, wanted to buy some of these stories, so he spun a web up to the sky and went up to bargain with the Sky God. The price the Sky God asked was Osebo, the leopard of-the-terrible-teeth, Mmboro the hornet who-stings-like-fire, and Mmoatia the fairy whom-men-never-see. How Ananse paid the price is told in a graceful and clever text, with forceful, lovely woodcut illustrations.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1870.

Presents twenty-one traditional tales from West Africa, including "The Greedy but Cunning Tortoise," "The Boy in the Drum," and "The Magic Cooking Pot."