A seamstress banishes her tools from her sewing box when she hears them boasting, but she discovers that she cannot do her work without them.

A young man who desires to be great builds a tower higher than any pagoda so that people will look up to him.

A pretty rabbit, Narcissa, makes fun of any creature that is not as lovely as herself until she offends a magic frog and finds her own beauty changing.

A fable about a group of animals which strives to bring the perfect present to the Indian raja-king's birthday party. Discusses how the numerals we use originated in India.

Everyone is afraid of Mr. Walnut, the scowling owner of the biggest pet store in the city, who sells all kinds of animals to rich customers from out of town, but when Mina's pet rabbit goes missing she vows to do something about it.

The lush, golden, royal beard is a wondrous thing--especially to the king himself. He spends his days admiring and grooming it, and passes laws making it a crime punishable by death for anyone else's face to sport even a single hair. As the people of the kingdom nervously shave daily, the royal beard grows and grows until it appears at the palace's back gate. What happens next will have readers laughing along--and cheering for the astronomers who,...