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In Singapore, there is a small mountain known to people as the Red Mountain. When you ask the elderly people of the place about the reason for the mountain’s redness and its being called by this name, they tell you this story: In ancient times, the sea around Singapore was filled with large fish called Siyaf, which the high waves brought with them to the sea. People at that time couldn’t swim or walk along the beach, fearing those fierce fish that prevented fishermen from earning their livelihood, destroyed their boats, and attacked many of them. ...

It is narrated that Juha once bought a rooster, but he did not keep it at his home, but he left it with the butcher to slaughter and eat it, for the butcher was his friend. While the rooster was walking, it said to a merchant, “O merchant, where is Juha?” The merchant said to him, “I am Juha.” The rooster said to him, “Then do you want me, for I am Juha’s rooster?” The merchant said to him, “Yes, I want you.” The rooster said to him, “I will not go with you, but you can go ahead, and I will follow you.” So the merchant went ahead, and the rooster followed him. When the merchant reached his home, he put the rooster in a cage to slaughter him. When the rooster was in the cage, he began to cry out loud. His owner Juha heard his voice, so he recognized the rooster was crying out. He hurried to the merchant and said to him, “O my friend, do not slaughter my rooster, for he is yours now.” The merchant replied to him, “O my friend, this rooster has become yours now and you must slaughter him.” Juha said to him, “I will not slaughter him, for the rooster has become yours.” The merchant said to him, “Then you must buy him.” Juha said to him, “O my friend, I will buy him with his skin.” The merchant laughed at his words and said to him, “And I will give you a free skin with him.” Juha said to him, “O my friend, this is not fair. How can I buy him with his skin? You must sell him to me without his skin.” The merchant agreed and said to him, “You are right. I will sell him to you without his skin.” ...

On the morning of one day when the sun rose, and nature increased in beauty and the tree leaves increased in brightness, everything in the forest appeared more radiant and clear. The canary was the first to wake up after she had been sleeping like most birds. The first thing she did was to fly upward, soaring above the forest trees, and continued to send her tunes through the trees, to wake up the birds and animals to the tones of her gentle soft voice. ...

It is told that there was an old man who had three young sons. The man owned a mill, a donkey, and a cat. When the man became ill and was on the verge of death, he distributed his property among his three sons. He gave the first the mill, and gave the second the donkey. As for the third, he gave him the cat. The two older brothers mocked their younger brother because he inherited something of no value. The boy was sad and sat crying, carrying the cat and looking at him. He talked to him and asked him, “What is your use? You are a tame animal, and there’s no benefit from you.” Suddenly, the cat stood up and answered the boy, saying, “I can do many things. I can make you richer than your brothers.” ...

It is told that there were two rabbits, a couple who had twin rabbit babies, but each had different character than the other. The first rabbit, named Ted, was calm in character and obedient to his parents. The other, named Freddie, was hard-hearted and always caused trouble for his parents. The parents always scolded Freddie because of his actions, while Ted was always praised by his parents. Freddie decided to leave the house and live alone in the forest, so he could do whatever he pleased without anyone holding him accountable. Ted and his parents were very sad for Freddie’s absence. ...

One day, Fatimah entered the house and was crying. Her mother saw her and asked: What are you crying about, Fatimah? Fatimah said: I went to visit my friend Hibah, and when I arrived at her house, I found the door wide open. I pushed the door and entered her house, and I began calling out to her. Her mother Hibah came out of the kitchen, and when she saw me, she asked: How did you enter here, Fatimah? I said to her: I entered through the door. So she answered me, angry at me: Why didn’t you knock first? So I told her I found the door wide open. She said to me: You are mistaken, Fatimah. You should have knocked so I could answer, and now what do you want, Fatimah? I answered her: I want my friend Hibah to play with her. ...

This wondrous story occurred in ancient times, in a distant land whose name the narrators forgot. In that time, a thousand crows lived in that land, and a thousand owls. The crows built their nests among the leaves of a high, dense-branched tree. The owls made their homes in caves inside a large mountain surrounding the crows’ tree. Years passed, year after year. Then a greedy king ruled the owls, neither wise nor brave. One day he looked toward the crows’ tree to be his resort and for his close followers. Because he was cowardly, he didn’t declare war on the black birds, but rather betrayed his black neighbors, the inhabitants of the tree. He attacked them suddenly while they were sleeping in safety, killing a large number of them. ...

Mahir was the son of one of the largest and wealthiest businessmen. When Mahir’s father died, Mahir found an iron box among his father’s things. There were things in the iron box that Mahir didn’t know. At the same time, Mahir was traveling to the city to conduct some business, so he couldn’t open the iron box. He took it with him to work. During work, Mahir gave the box to his colleague and business manager. His business manager’s name was Razi. ...

The little red hen lived in the yard. She spent almost all her time walking around the yard searching everywhere for worms. She loved worms very much; their taste was delicious, and she considered them essential for her chicks’ health. In the coop was a lazy cat lying at the barn door, not bothering even to scare the mice running here and there. As for the sheep, he was uninterested in what was going on around him as long as he found his food. ...

One day, Yogi and his student arrived at the big city. Yogi had undertaken to teach and train his student. They didn’t have money, but they needed food and a place to stay. The student was certain they were going to beg for their food and sleep in public parks at night. The student said: There is a big garden not far from here. Can we sleep there at night in the open air? Yogi answered his student’s question. The student said: Yes. ...