Contents: I. Tales of men : 1. Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne. 2. Kenaram Becharam. 3. Dukhiram. 4. The monkey prince. 5. The Ghangosaur's tale. II. Tales of grandmothers: 1. Clever Granny hunchback. 2. Poor Granny licey. III. Tales of birds: 1. How Tuntuni fooled the pussycat. 2. How Tuntuni sacred the barber. 3. How the king lost his nose. 4. The sparrow and the crow. 5. The sparrow and the tiger. IV. Tales of foxes: 1. The tiger, the fox and the lion's uncle. 2. Uncle tiger and nephew fox. 3. How the weaver married the princess. 4. The witness fox. 5. The stupid crocodile and the learned fox. V. Tale of a cat: 1. Majantali Sarkar.

Goopy and Bagha are dedicated but unsuccessful musicians who are cast out of their homes because their music drives their families and neighbours crazy. In the forest, they meet the king of ghosts, and pleased with their music, he grants them boons which change their lives forever. The enchanting story was made into a film by Satyajit Ray, which remains one of the classics of Indian cinema.

"Artist, musician and man of science, Upendrakishore Roychoudhury was a man of many parts. But it is for his writing for children that he is best remembered. This book is a selection of the best of his stories and the most fascinating of his characters: Tuntuni, the little bird; the clever fox; Majantali Sarkar, the cat; the intrepid Granny Hunchback, and many others."