Idries Shah

In Idries Shah's Wisdom of the Idiots, the 'idiots' are Sufis, called this because their wisdom penetrates to a depth which renders it inaccessible to the merely intelligent or academically-knowledgeable. The exercise-stories of the Sufis are tools prepared for a specific purpose. On this level the movements of the characters in a story portray psychological processes, and the story becomes a working blueprint of those processes. Wisdom of the Idiots...

Because she does not faithfully follow the instructions of Arif the Wise Man, the Queen of Hich-Hich gives birth to a half-boy, who grows up to be very clever and confronts a dragon in an effort to become whole

As he gapes and growls at his ferocious reflection in a pool of water as shiny as a mirror, a terrified lion grows desperately thirsty

An illustrated collection of 65 folktales, each with an introduction outlining the appearance of the tale in various cultures.