A tale from the Buddhist tradition about a community of lions and jackals that learns that friendship is built on trust and generosity retold for young readers.

This collection of folktales from South Africa has been put together the author says, not for scholarship but for a love of the sunny country where he was born. Some stories originate from Dutch sources, and some have several versions. Most are tales told by the bushmen.

Jabu is a young Zulu cowherd who happens to love his job-taking care of his father's cattle. In fact, no one else in his village is as tactful and hardworking as he is. One fine day, when Bhubesi, the lion who has been causing havoc in the village gets caught in a trap, Jabu frees him even though instinct warns him not to. And soon he realises that an act of kindness need not always be repaid in kind.

Relates how a Brahman Hindu saves a tiger from a trap only to be threatened with being eaten by the tiger.

Africa has a wonderfully rich store of folk tales that have been passed down from one generation to the next. There are stories about how the world came into being, stories that tell of the relationships between human beings and between man and his environment, and of the lessons to be learned from everyday experience. The tales are like the fairy talkes told all over the world, but they have a strong African flavour that is as real as the smell of rain on hot earth. The Best of African Folklore takes the reader into an enchanted world where animals can talk and humans are often changed into different forms, where magic is commonplace and reality is turned delightfully on its head. Despite numerous setbacks, things usually turn out all right in the end. Wicked and greedy people (and animals) come off worst and the good receive their just rewards. The gods are stern but fair, and every story has a moral for those who are wise enough to see it.

Combining tales from African folklore with fascinating facts about animals native to Africa's grasslands and rainforests. Supplementing each story is a table of statistics about the tale's leading animal. A map of the African continent shows where the animals live and migrate. Handsomely illustrated.

Includes four traditional tales told by the Hausa, Angolan, Masai, and Bushmen people of Africa.

"Now fans of Disney's The Lion Guard can meet the dazzling array of animals from A to Z that Kion and his friends protect in the Pride Lands. This lenticular alphabet book reveals the diversity of the animal kingdom and is full of fun facts and one exciting visual surprise after another!"--

"One fine day, Chandarva, a small jackal wakes up to find his fur turned to the colour blue. Listen to the adventures of the blue jackal in this hilarious Panchatantra Classic brought alive by the rich and sonorous voice of master story teller Naseeruddin Shah."--Cover.