These moralistic stories within stories date back to the Sanskrit text Panchatantra (200 BC – 300 AD). They were first translated into Arabic by a Persian named Ruzbeh who named it Book of Kalilah and Dimna and then by Abdullah Ibn al-Muqaffa and later Joseph Harris in 1679 and then remodeled in 1818. Max Mueller noted that La Fontaine was indebted to the work and other scholars have noted that Jeanne-Marie LePrince de Beaumont and John Fletcher were both familiar with the fables. The Fables of Pilpay are a series of inter-woven fables, many of which deploy metaphors of anthropomorphized animals with human virtues and vices. (Summary by The introduction and Wikipedia)
Chapters
1
Preface Read by April Mendis 9:06
2
Introduction Read by Craig Campbell 9:24
3
The Story Of Dabschelim And Pilpay Read by czandra 17:22
4
The Travelling Pidgeon Read by Craig Campbell 14:27
5
The Falcon and the Raven Read by Rebecca Eden Walker 5:26
6
The greedy and ambitious Cat Read by Tasha C Mapes 6:50
7
The poor Man who became a great King 6:46
8
The Leopard and the Lion Read by Kingsnake 7:01
9
The Merchant and his Children 4:15
10
The King and his two Sons Read by Tasha C Mapes 4:51
11
The Demise, the Falcon, and the Raven Read by Monicha1 2:58
12
The Countryman and several Rats Read by Monicha1 7:46
13
The Carpenter and the Ape Read by Monicha1 1:49
14
The two Travellers, and the Lion carved in Stone Read by Craig Campbell 17:28
15
The Fox and the Hen Read by Christina Fu 8:04
16
The Sparrow and the Sparrow-hawk Read by Michael MacTaggert 5:59
17
The King who from a savage Tyrant, became benign and just Read by Alan Mapstone 3:48
18
A Raven, a Fox, and a Serpent Read by Rebecca Eden Walker 1:55
19
The Crane and the Craw-fish Read by Craig Campbell 6:56
20
The Rabbit, the Fox, and the Wolf Read by Craig Campbell 5:32
21
The Lion and the Rabbit Read by Hannah Dormor 8:37
22
The two Fishermen and the three Fishes Read by Hannah Dormor 3:04
23
The Scorpion and the Tortoise Read by Hannah Dormor 10:24
24
The Falcon and the Hen Read by Hannah Dormor 2:54
25
The Nightingale and the Countryman Read by April Mendis 3:31
26
The Hunter, the Fox, and the Leopard Read by Gini Pug 2:33
27
The Wolf, the Fox, the Raven, and the Camel Read by Gini Pug 8:50
28
The Angel Ruler of the Sea and two Birds, called Gerandi Read by Ellies 2:40
29
The Tortoise and two Ducks Read by Craig Campbell 7:32
30
Two young Merchants, the one crafty, and the other without Deceit Read by Michael MacTaggert 4:59
31
The Frog, the Craw-fish, and the Serpent Read by Jonathan Gary 4:42
32
The Gardener and the Bear Read by Gini Pug 3:09
33
The Merchant and his Friend 6:37
34
The Fox, the Wolf, and the Raven 3:58
35
The Ass and the Gardener 5:01
36
The Prince and his Minister 5:39
37
A Hermit who quitted the Desert to live at Court 6:49
38
The blind Man who travelled with one of his Friends 6:33
39
A religious Doctor and a Dervise 10:04
40
Three envious Persons that found Money 9:31
41
The ignorant Physician Read by Ellies 14:39
42
The Raven, the Rat, and the Pigeons Read by Gini Pug 7:25
43
The Partridge and the Falcon Read by Michael MacTaggert 5:46
44
The Man and the Adder Read by Mary in Arkansas 12:18
45
The Adventures of Zirac Read by Alan Mapstone 4:19
46
A Husband and his Wife Read by Rebecca Eden Walker 2:21
47
The Hunter and the Wolf Read by Michael MacTaggert 8:53
48
The ravenous Cat Read by holtonhj64 4:04
49
The two Friends Read by Sandy Kurtz 11:10
50
The Ravens and the Owls Read by Craig Campbell 10:57
51
The Origin of the Hatred between the Ravens and the Owls 3:56
52
The Elephants and the Rabbits Read by Jennifer Louise 7:45
53
The Cat and the two Birds Read by April Mendis 5:25
54
The Dervise and the Four Robbers 7:06
55
The Merchant, his Wife, and the Robber Read by April Mendis 2:51
56
The Dervise, the Thief, and the Devil Read by Alan Mapstone 6:15
57
The Monkeys and the Bears Read by Mary in Arkansas 15:56
58
The Mouse that was changed into a little Girl Read by Michael MacTaggert 5:54
59
The Serpent and the Frogs 4:45
From LibriVox, read by volunteers and in the public domain. LibriVox page (opens librivox.org) , the text (opens archive.org) , all files on the Internet Archive (opens archive.org) .
