Folktales from the Arabian Peninsula Read online

  MacDonald, Margaret Read. The Storyteller’s Sourcebook: A Subject, Title, and Motif Index to Folklore Collections for Children. 1st ed. Detroit: Gale Research, 1982.

  MacDonald, Margaret Read, and Brian W. Sturm. The Storyteller’s Sourcebook: A Subject, Title, and Motif Index to Folklore Collections for Children: 1983–1999. Detroit: Gale Research, 2000.

  Paine, Patty, Jesse Ulmer, and Michael Hersud, eds. The Donkey Lady and Other Tales of the Arabian Gulf. Collected and translated by Khamam Al Ghanem and Dr. Sara Al-Mohannadi. Berkshire, U.K.: Berkshire Academic Press, Limited, 2013, 17–36.

  Pimm-Smith, Alan. “From Ar’abic to Eng’lish,” Saudi Aramco World, March/April 2007, 36–38.

  Rayess, Faud. “The Cream of Wisdom,” Saudi Aramco World, January/February 1969, 22–25.

  Reynolds, Dwight Fletcher. Arab Folklore: A Handbook. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2007.

  SCT Magazine. Salalah College of Technology, English Language Center, Salalah, Oman (April 2013).

  Thompson, Stith. Motif-Index of Folk-Literature. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1966.

  Tracy, William. “A Talk with Violet Dickson,” Saudi Aramco World. November/December 1972, 13–19.

  INDEX

  Abdullah Salim Al-Hammer family, color inset

  Abu al-Qasim al-Zamakshari, 81

  Abu Bakr Alasdeek xvii; Abu Bakr hides with Prophet, 21

  Abu Dhabi, xvii

  Abu Nawas, eats leopard’s insides, 47; kills sheep, tricks women, 47

  “Abu Nawas, the Trickster,” 47–48

  Abu’l-Ghusn Dujain bin Thabit, 33

  Abyssinian, 74

  ‘Ad, King of, 27

  Aden, xix

  Advice of father, 68

  Aesop. See Nésop

  African descendant loves princess, 40–42

  Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Maidani, 81

  Ajman, xviii

  Al Ali family, xviii

  Al Bu Falasah clan, xvii

  Al Jazeera television, xii

  Al Nuami family, xviii

  Al Sharqi family, xviii

  Al Thani family, xix

  Al-Fujairah, xviii

  Al-Hajjaj, 37

  Al-Khor, Qatar, 65

  Allah, riddles about, 18–19

  Al-Nahyan family, xvii

  Al-Qalis, 74

  Al-Qasimi family, xviii

  Al-Sabah family, xii, xiv

  Anderson, Kiera, 49

  “The Annoying Dove,” 14–15

  “The Ant and the Louse,” 4

  Ant hits louse with spoon, 4

  Ant in box saves rice, 57

  Ants seen on ceiling, xx

  Arabian Gulf, 65

  Arabian Nights, 75

  Arabian Peninsula, history, ix

  Arabic words, 87–88

  Aslam, servant of ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattab, 22

  “Aziz, Son of His Maternal Uncle,” 29–30

  Bab el Mandeb Strait, xix

  Badawi, 27–28, 43

  Badu, 43

  Baghdad, 40, riddle challenge, 18–19

  Bahrain, ix, xi, xiii, 29–31, 40

  Baluchistan, xv

  Bani Yas Bedouin, xvii

  Banu Tamin tribe, xix

  Barren woman choses knowledge over childbearing, 73

  Bath, singing in, 35

  Beard compared to broom, 38

  Bedouin, xvii, 1, 49, 82

  Bedouin family, color inset

  Benazin Bedouin tribe, 1

  Bible, x, 71

  Bidouns, xiv

  “The Biggest Lie,” 62

  Bilquis, Queen, 72. See also Sheba, Queen

  Bird tells wife tales to warn, 75–80

  Birds stone enemies of Mecca, 74

  “The Black Pearl and the White Pearl,” 40–42

  Boat of eggshell, 24

  Boy answers riddles, 18–19

  Braid cut as mark, 30

  Bride, fake doll, 58

  Brides sail off with heroine, 75

  Brother, chosen over husband and son, 37

  Bubul birds, color inset

  Buckthorns picked, 16

  Burj Khalifa, xi

  Burp, woman burps, 25–26

  Caliph cooks for hungry children, 22

  Camel, emerges from rock as sign, 54–55; follows rope pulled by crab, 82; sweat used for coffee, 29; weeps, 54

  Camels, x; photo, 54; information, 55; captured, 74; color inset

  Camping in Kuwait, color inset

  “The Cat Country,” 25–26

  Cat, woman afraid will tell about her burp, 25–26

  Cave, Prophet hides in, 21

  “Choices,” 37

  Chocolates from England trick sahar, 61

  Christian temple, 74

  Cinderella, 63, 70

  Citizenship, xi

  Coffee made from camel sweat, 29

  Cooking food for hungry children, 22

  Counting days of Ramadan, 36

  Counting donkeys, 7

  Cow Surah chanted, 53

  “A Crab Has Drowned a Camel,” 82–83

  Crab pulls camel rope into sea, 82

  Crow, why is black, 1–2

  Crystal palace built for queen, 72

  Cumulative tale, ant and louse, 4

  Cut in leg as mark, 30

  Dam breaks, 73

  Dancing to thwart thief, 8–9

  Daud, King, 20

  David, King. See Daud, King

  Dead, fool believes self dead, 52

  Death, end of cumulative tale, 4; house without, 30

  Deemer, Margie, color inset, b & w inset

  Dhofar, Oman, 50

  Dickson, H.R.P., 40, 43, 45, 46

  Dickson, Violet, 42

  Dilmun civilization, ix, xiii

  Dividing, fox learns from wolf’s mistake, 3

  “A Djinn Story,” 49

  “The Djinn Outside the Window,” 53

  Djinn, exorcised by mullah, 53; land of, 49; man wed to, 49. See also Genie

  Dog, helpful spurned 38–39; of poor man killed, 43; sinks eggshell boat, 24

  Doha, xi

  Doja, Qatar, color inset

  Donkey, carries treasure home, 46; lost, 50; fool believes will die if donkey farts 52; who should ride, 51; counting, 7

  “The Dove, the Partridge, and the Crow,” 1–2

  Dove, swallowed, keeps singing, 14–15; why has pink feet, 1–2

  Drum party, 63

  Dubai, xi, xvii

  Eagle carries man, 27

  Eggshell boat, 24

  Egyptians, x

  Elephant, white, kneels to Ka’ba, 74

  El-Shamy, Hasan, 38

  Empty Quarter, 47, 49. See also Rub al-Khali

  Enemies flee each other, 59

  Ethiopia, 74

  Faheel, Kuwait, color inset

  “The Fake Bride,” 58

  Falcon life span for Luqman, xx

  Fazara tribe, 33

  Fear of stranger, 59

  Fish, aids girl, 70; provides clothing for party, 63; enormous lie, 62

  “The Fisherman’s Daughter,” 70

  Fishing boats photo, xiii, b & w inset, color inset

  Five pillars of Islam, xii

  Flame tree, color inset

  Fool. See Jouha

  Foolish imitation, 10–13, 23, 25–26

  Fox, as judge 45–46; gives lion bigger share, 3

  “The Fox, the Wolf, and the Lion,” 3

  Frankincense, x, xix

  Fsaijrah goes to party, 63

  Genie substitutes daughter for bride, 58

  Ghafiri tribe, 59

  Ghoul threatens, 16–17

  Girl in guise of man weds princess, 79

  Girl, poor marries prince, 38–39

  Gold mouse droppings, 23

  Goldfinch tells wife tales to warn, 75

  Grief, house without, 30

  Gulf War, xiii

  Hadith xx, 81

  Hadramat, xix

  Hajj, xi, xii, xvi, xv
ii

  Haram, xvii

  “The Hattáb (Woodcutter) and the Khaznah (Treasure), 46

  Heart, most valuable and least, xix

  “The Helpful Dog,” 38–39

  “The Helpful Fish,” 63

  Hen refuses to say “Insha’allah,” 67

  Herodotus, x

  Hijaz, xvi

  Hinawi tribe, 59

  Hoopoe bird tells of Saba, 72

  “Hunan’s Slippers,” 82

  Hurth tribe, 59

  Ibrahim, Prophet, xvii

  Isa, Prophet (Jesus), xvii

  Islam, xii; required for citizenship, xi

  Ismael, xvii

  Jabal an Nabi Shu-ayb, xix

  Jaed, girl wearing, 16

  Jebel, color inset

  Jeddah, xi

  Jewelry left for Abu Nawas, 47

  Jinn brings throne, 72

  “The Jinn Builds a Road,” 60

  Joseph, JonLee, 47, 49, 114, color inset

  Jouha, 7, 33–36, 51

  “Jouha and His Donkeys,” 7

  “Jouha Loses His Donkey,” 50

  Judge dances, 8–9

  Judgement, kill man who killed dog, 43–44; shepherd to till land, farmer to guard sheep, 20

  Ka’ba, xi, xii, xvi, xvii, attacked, 74

  Khoja Nasruddin al-Rumi, 33

  “Kill the Man Who Killed the Dog,” 43–44

  “The King, the Prince, and the Naughty Sheep,” 20

  Knowledge chosen over childbearing, 73

  Koran, xvii, 54, 72, 81

  Kuwait, xiii, 27, 33–46

  Kuwait children’s program, color inset

  Kuwait city photos, xii

  Kuwaiti scenes, b & w inset

  Kuwaiti tenting, xiv, xv, color inset

  Kuwaiti villa, color inset

  Language of animals understood by Suleiman, 20

  Lateen sail, origin, 65

  Leopard has water inside body, 47

  Lie, biggest, 62

  Line, drawn, crossed, 49

  Lion eats wolf, fox learns to divide, 3

  Liwa oasis, xvii

  “The Lost City of Ubar,” 27–28

  Louse complains that ant hit, 4

  Love has eye poked out by Madness, 56

  Love most important, 64

  “Luqman the Wise,” xix–xx

  MacDonald, Margaret Read, 113; photo, color inset

  Madness pokes out eye of Love, 56

  “Makki and Khakki,” 23

  Maktoum family, xvii

  Man disguised as woman, 30

  “The Manly Maid,” 75–80

  “The Mighty Dyke of Ma-rib,” 73

  Ma-rib dyke, 73

  Massan, Mahbrook, x, 47, 49

  Mecca, xi, xii, xvi, 21; attacked, 74

  Mice covering eyes bad sign, 73

  “The Mighty Dyke of Ma-rib,” 73

  Minaret, photo 35; singing from, 35

  “The Miracle of the Spider’s Web,” 21

  Mohammad, Prophet, xvii, xii, 74; saved by spider web, 21

  Molukia soup, 14–15

  Mount Sawda, xv

  Mountains. See Jebel

  “The Mouse and the Eggshell Boat,” 24

  Mouse, poops gold, 23; takes all onto eggshell boat, 24

  Mullah exorcises djinn, 53

  Muscat, Oman, xi, 59, 60, 62

  Myrrh, xix

  Najd, xvi

  Nero, x

  “Nésop and the Snake,” 45–46

  Octopus threatens pearl diver, 41

  Oil, xi, xvii

  Old man forces woman to carry, 10–13

  Oman, ix, xv, 47–62, 82. See also Muscat

  Omar Ibn Alkattab, xvii

  Omrah, xi

  “Origin of the Dhow’s Lateen Sail,” 65

  Palm Jumeirah, xi

  Palm trees, color inset

  Pan big enough for enormous fish, lie, 62

  Partridge, why has black ringed eyes, 1–2

  Pearl diver loves princess, 40–42

  Pearl fishers, xiv, 42, 65

  Perfume entices prince to marry, 58

  Pigeon, Kuwait, color inset

  Pilgrimages, xi

  “The Poor Lady’s Plan,” 8–9

  Princess swallows singing dove, 14–15; fake, 58; as man, 75–80

  Proverbs, 81–82

  Pumpkin, bought for daughters, 10–13

  Qaboos bin Said al Said, Sultan, xv; palace, color inset

  Qatar, xviii, 63–65; museum, color inset. See also Doha

  “Queen Bilquis Visits King Suyleiman,” 72

  “The Queen of Sheba Visits King Solomon,” 71

  Questions answered, 34

  Quraysh tribe, 74; tribe seek to harm Prophet, 21

  Ramadan, xii, 36

  Ras al-Khaimah, xviii

  Red Sea, xix

  Relative helps, stranger does not, 68–69

  Rhyme, ant and louse, 4

  Rice saved by trapped ant, 57

  Riddle, 85–86; posed to Solomon, 72; stories, 5–6

  Riyadh, xvi

  Road contract with Djinn, 60

  Roman challenges with riddles, 18–10

  Rub al-Khai, ix, xix, xv, xvi, xvii, 27–28

  Saba, ix, xix, 71; land of Queen Sheba, 72

  Sabbaen people, 73

  “The Sad Story of the Mother Camel,” 54

  Sahar tricked by woman, 61

  Sail, origin of, 65

  Sailors, obey heroine, 75; Omani, x

  Salalah, Oman, x, xii, 52, 53, color inset

  Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud, xvi

  San-a, Yemen, 74

  Saud, house of, xvi

  Saudi Arabia, xi, xv; tales from, 1–22

  “The Seven Buckthorn Pickers,” 16–17

  “The Shaikh’s Sheep,” 68–69

  Sharjah International Book Fair, xii

  Sharjah, xviii

  Sheba, Queen, ix, xix, 71. See also Bilquis

  Sheep, killed by Abu Nawas, 47–48; of poor man taken, 43; talk about shepherd, 20

  Shepherd, photo, 44

  Shisr, x, 47

  Sidra tree, 16

  Sign language, 5–6

  “Signs,” 5–6

  Sinbad, x

  Singing song, 14–15

  Singing tale, 8–9

  Skull, talking, 27–28

  Slipper, on road, dupe returns for first, 82

  Snake, warmed threatens, 45–46

  Solomon, 27–28. See also Suleiman

  Somali crew of ship 75

  Son and father, who should ride, 51

  Spider web saves Prophet Mohammed, 21

  Spring, origin, 31

  “The Springs of Bahrain,” 31

  Stars become springs, 31

  Stones used to count, 36

  Stones, poison dropped on enemies of Mecca, 74

  Strait of Hormuz, xv, xviii

  “Strangers on the Road,” 59

  Success, less important than Love, 64

  Suleiman, 20; and thrifty ant, 57. See also Solomon

  Sultan’s palace, color inset

  Sur, Oman, 60

  Surat al Baqarah, 53

  Swallowed dove keeps singing, 14–15

  Sweat used for coffee, 29; answer to riddle, 72

  Taibah, Nadia Jameel, 113; tales shared by, 1–22

  Tanzania, 40

  Tenting in Kuwait, photos, xiv, xv, color inset

  Theft to prove point, 68–69

  Thief caught by dancing, 8–9

  Thieves kill each other, 46

  “The Thrifty Ant,” 57

  “Throw Your Pumpkin and Pick Me Up,” 10–13

  Tongue, most valuable and least, xix

  Traveling great distance test, 61

  Treasure brought home by donkey, 46

  Tree, branch cut, fool falls 52; thought to bear jewelry, 48

  “Tricking the Sahar,” 61

  Trickster. See Abu Nawas; Jouha

  Turkey, 33

  Turtle
upturned bad sign, 73

  Ubar, 27–28, 47. See also Wubar

  “Umar Ibn Al-Khattab Cooks Food for Hungry Children,” 22

  Umm al-Quwain, xviii

  Umrah. See Omrah

  United Arab Emirates, xvii, 67–70, 82, 85–86

  ‘Utaiba tribe, 43

  Water, birds sent to find, 1–2; from neither heaven nor earth, 72

  Watering trough of poor man broken, 43

  Wealth, less important than Love, 64

  “Wealth, Success, and Love,” 64

  Web covers cave protecting Prophet Mohammed, 21

  “When Jouha’s Donkey Passes Gas,” 52

  “Who Should Ride the Donkey?,” 51

  “Why Love is Blind,” 56

  “Why the Hen Cannot Fly,” 67

  Wife tells secret, 68

  Wisdom, chosen as gift, xix; of Solomon, 71. See also knowledge

  “A Wise Young Boy,” 18–19

  Wise man makes signs, fool interprets, 5–6

  Wolf eaten by lion, 3

  Woman dances to thwart thief, 8–9

  Woman forced to carry old man, 10–13

  Woman surpasses others with sail shape, 65

  Women, Kuwaiti, b & w inset

  Woodcutter believes God will provide, 46

  Worm threads jewel, 72

  Wubar, 49. See also Ubar

  “The Year of the White Elephant,” 74

  Yemen, ix, xix, 71–80

  Youngest daughter mistreated, 16–17

  Zanzibar, x, xv

  Zarifa, Queen, 73

  About the Authors

  Margaret Read MacDonald, a folklore Ph.D. and former children’s librarian, has worked with storytellers from Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand to create folktale collections for the Libraries Unlimited World Folktales series. While working on this collection from the Arabian Peninsula, she was fortunate to make several visits to the area, telling stories and traveling in Abu-Dhabi, Bahrain, Dubai, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. Her Arabic counting book How Many Donkeys?, coauthored with Nadia Jameel Taibah, won the 2010 Sharjah International Book Fair Award for Best English Language Children’s Book dealing with an Arabic topic.

  Nadia Jameel Taibah is an assistant professor at King Abdul-Aziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. She received her doctorate in special education, learning disabilities, from the University of Washington. Her interests in helping children to be literate and include reading stories as part of their lives led her to become specialized in reading and specifically diagnosing children with reading disabilities. She is involved in many national projects to develop and standardize assessment tools for reading and reading-related skills. She was raised hearing some of these stories from her family, especially her mother, Zain, and aunt Salha.