Despite the cultural differences and in the customs between East and West, the essence of folk tales is the same throughout the world, as folklorist Joseph Jacobs demonstrated with this compilation of twenty-eight traditional stories from India, including some of the oldest known legends. The lion and the crane, The magic violin, The golden snake, The ass with lion skin and the rest of fables are a delicious reading for all those who are tired of the classics of always and look for something original and different. These and many other legends of magic, love and betrayal, courage and pride come together in this volume that begins a new trilogy to which we have called Fables and Legends of the East. The book includes, in addition, the beautiful illustrations that John D. Batten made for the original edition of 1912.