The Tiger’s Adopted Son
Folktales are Oral stories that are passed down by the elders to the younger generation. For centuries, folktales have been a crucial medium for preserving cultural traditions and teaching the youth to understand the world around them. A Folktale from Orissa An old couple had no children and no land. They were very poor. They went out to the jungle everyday, dug roots and tubers, and ate them. They lived that way. When they were already old, the woman got pregnant. After several months, she gave birth to a child in the tuber patch. She called out to the old man, Old man, the child is born. What should we do? He said, we have nothing to eat. We have no clothes or anything else. How will we take care of a child? She said, ‘well, old man, let’s leave him here in the tuber patch and go home. Then may be someone else will take care of him.’ They agreed and left him in the tuber patch and went home. The child began to …
ROAD TO NARA 