Contents: 1. Life's secret. 2. Phakir Chand. 3. The indigent Brahman. 4. The story of the Rakshasas. 5. The story of Swet-Basanta. 6. The evil eye of Sani. 7. The boy whom seven mothers suckled. 8. The story of Prince Sobur. 9. The origin of opium. 10. Strike but hear. 11. The adventures of two thieves and of their sons. 12. The Ghost-Brahman. 13. The man who wished to be perfect. 14. A ghostly wife. 15. The story of a Brahmadaitya. 16. The story of a Hiraman. 17. The origin of rubies. 18. The match-making jackal. 19. The boy with the moon on his forehead. 20. The ghost who was afraid of being bagged. 21. The field of bones. 22. The bald wife.

"This is a collection of unwritten stories told by old Bengali women to little children from age to age through a hundred generations. Such simple, unadorned and exquisite tales which form a valuable part of the heritage of all civilizations are not to be traced to individual authors. These products of the folk mind, transmitted through countless generations, have a verve and vitality all their own and constitute the very core around which popular mythology casts its halo.

While there have been admirable collections of such folk stories in the west, the veritable treasure of these tales in Indian languages has never so far been systematically tapped.

A pioneering effort in this direction, Folk Tales of Bengal brings together in excellent English translation numerous folktales collected from the traditional story-tellers of Bengal. It will be found an invaluable work by all students of folk literature and comparative mythology." (jacket)