DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "The Talking Thrush, and Other Tales from India" by William Crooke, W. H. D. Rouse. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

William Crooke CIE FBA (6 August 1848 - 25 October 1923) was a British orientalist and a key figure in the study and documentation of Anglo-Indian folklore. He was born in County Cork, Ireland, and was educated at Erasmus Smith's Tipperary Grammar School and Trinity College, Dublin. Crooke joined the Indian Civil Service. While an administrator in India, he found abundant material for his researches in the ancient civilizations of the country. He found ample time to write much on the people of India, their religions, beliefs and customs. He was also an accomplished hunter. He returned to England and in 1910, he was chosen to be the president of the Anthropological Section of the British Association.

This gorgeous book is a collection of 43 Indian folk-tales retold here by W. D. Rouse to delight children. These wonderful tales are accompanied by many beautiful and intricate black and white illustrations by W. Heath Robinson.

William Crooke (1848-1923) was an English orientalist and "the central figure in Anglo-Indian folklore" according to Richard Mercer Dorson. Born in a family long settled in Ireland, he was educated at Tipperary Grammar School, before winning a scholarship to the Trinity College, Dublin. In 1871, he entered the Indian Civil Service. As an Indian Civil Service officer, his tenure was entirely spent in the United Provinces of Agra and Awadh. During this time, he held charge as Magistrate and Collector of various districts like Etah, Saharanpur, Gorakhpur and Mirzapur. In these districts, he found abundant material for his researches in the ancient civilisation of India. He was also an accomplished hunter, and an outspoken critic of the mechanically efficient "Secretariat" system. He was allowed to retire early after just 25 years of service in 1895. Apart from his official duties to which he was heavily devoted, he found ample time to write much on the people of India and their religions, beliefs and customs. In 1910, he was chosen to be the President of the Anthropological Section of the British Association, and became the editor of Folklore in 1915. His works include: Rural and Agricultural Glossary, NWP and Oudh (1888), The Popular Religion and Folklore of Northern India (1896) and The Tribes and Castes of the NWP and Oudh (1896).

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.