Adapted from a Middle Eastern Islamic folk tale which is attributed to different countries, including Turkey and Syria.Mullah Nasruddin had been working in the fields all day long. He was tired and sweaty and his clothes and shoes were covered with mud and stains….

Adapted from a story by Malba Tahan (pen name for Julio Cesar de Mello e Souza, 1895-1975), a mathematician from Brazil who also wrote The Man Who Counted (Editoria Record, 2001), which was first published in Brazil in 1949.Once, two friends named Mussa and Nagib made a journey through the mounta…

A true story. The mosquitoes in Borneo were terrible. On bad days, the people of Borneo would be covered in mosquito bites. (Leader — Ask, “And what do you suppose would happen?” Wait for someone to suggest that it would itch and people would scratch / make the bites bleed.) That’s right — those…

Adapted from an Indian folk tale. There was once a wise woman who lived by herself near a small village. Rumor had it that she could always accurately predict when the rains would come, or help heal a sick child with herbs, or calm angry neighbors and help them to resolve their fights and arguments.

Adapted from a historical Islamic tale. Uthman ibn Affan was one of the very first followers of the prophet Muhammad, who started the Muslim religion. He was a very wealthy man who was known far and wide for his generosity….

Adapted from Hebrew scripture (Leviticus 19:18) and Christian scripture (Luke 10:25-37). Preparation To make this story participatory: Open up the storytelling circle to include a “stage area.” Ask for volunteers. You will need a child to play the Good Samaritan, the wounded man, the priest, the…

A Jewish tale from Afghanistan. Once, on a summer night in the country Afghanistan, the ruler Shah Abbis changed out of his fancy robes and left his palace dressed as a peasant to enjoy the evening air and to wander through the streets unnoticed. He walked and walked until he reached the poorest…

Adapted from a Jataka tale (Buddhist). Once upon a time on the outskirts of a big city in Japan there stood an old temple. From a young age boys who wanted to study Buddhism would come to live in the temple and to learn from the master teacher, a Buddhist monk….

Adapted from a Scottish folktale in The Fairy Mythology by Thomas Keightley (George Bell & Sons, 1882).Long ago in Scotland there was a small fishing village that stood at the edge of the sea….

Adapted from the story, “We Are All One,” in Stories in Faith by Gail Forsyth-Vail (Boston: Unitarian Universalist Association, 2007), which was adapted from a Cantonese tale adapted by Lawrence Yep….

Stories adapted from the Giraffe Heroes Project website John Holland McCowan John Holland-McCowan was five years old when he first announced that he wanted to help kids who were in need. He saved up his allowance and bought some toys for kids who were living in a shelter. When he dropped off the…

Adapted from a Thai folk tale. Once upon a time, a queen sat on her balcony eating rice cakes and honey with her chief advisor. As they ate, they gazed down at the busy street below. The Queen pointed to something in the distance, and as she did a drop of honey from her rice cake landed on the…

Adapted from an Aesop’s fable. Once upon a time, an old woman lived on a beautiful farm in the country. From her window, she could see pasture land, fields of grain, barns filled with animals, orchards and forests beyond. The farm was special to the old woman because it had been in her family for…

Adapted, with permission, from “The Heartless King,” an Indian folk tale adapted by Sophia Fahs in From Long Ago and Many Lands, second edition, by Sophia Fahs and Patricia Hoertdoerfer and illustrated by Cyrus Leroy Baldridge (Boston: Skinner House Books, 1995). Once upon a time there lived a…

A Jataka Tale from India. Martin, Rafe. The Hungry Tigress: Buddhist Myths, Legends, and Jataka Tales (Somerville, MA: Yellow Moon Press, 1999). Reprinted with the permission of the author. www.rafemartin.comOnce, long ago, the Buddha was born as a little parrot. One day, a storm broke upon her…

Reprinted from A Lamp in Every Corner: Our Unitarian Universalist Storybook (Boston: Unitarian Universalist Association, 2004). When Olympia Brown was little, girls weren’t supposed to whistle. Girls weren’t supposed to climb trees or run fast or catch frogs. But Olympia did; she did all those…

Compiled from a variety of West African and South African folk tales. Once upon a time two cousins lived side by side in a village. They worked together in the fields each day and returned home each night to share a meal and some fun in the evening. The young woman cousin’s name was Nosa….

Recrafted with permission of the author, Francis Dorff, O. Praem, of the Norbertine Community of Alberquerque, New Mexico, from his story, “The Rabbi’s Gift,” which is copyrighted by The New Catholic World magazine. Mr….