Author: Rohini Chowdhury
Publisher: Penguin/Puffin
Year: 2005
Language: English
Pages: 163
ISBN/UPC (if available): 014333493X
Description
Twenty fabulous tales of young heroes from around the world.
Myths, they say, are the dreams of mankind, at once utterly strange and hauntingly familiar. They tell of beginnings and ends, creation and destruction, life and death… The twenty myths in this book come from many different cultures all over the world—from the great classic tales of Greece and Rome, and from Norse, Celtic, Egyptian, Native American, Aboriginal, Indian and Asian traditions. At the heart of each is the story of a child hero.
Some of the stories are well-known: the story of Horus, the boy who won the throne of Egypt; of Heracles, the Greek hero who as an infant killed mighty serpents; and of Romulus and Remus, who were suckled by a wolf and went on to found Rome. There are also many that are less well-known—the story of Cuchulainn, the Celtic hero, and his valour as a child soldier, and of Wen
P’eng, the Chinese boy who turns into a dragon. The title story describes the childhood adventures of three of Persia’s great princes—Zal the white-haired, Rustam the Valiant and Sohrab the Smiling.
Rohini Chowdhury’s magical narrative captures the adventure, magic, mystery and wonder of these stories.
Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
FROM PERSIA
The Three Princes of Persia
FROM INDIA
The Education of Princes
Siddhartha and the Swan
FROM EGYPT
Horus and the Throne of Egypt
FROM GREECE
Heracles
Flight to the Sun
FROM ROME
The Sons of Mars
FROM THE MAYANS
The Legend of the Dwarf
Hunahpu and Xbalanque
FROM THE AZTECS
Huitzilopochtli
FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT
The Sons of Abraham
FROM THE MAORIS
Maui
FROM THE NATIVE AMERICANS
Muyingwa, a Hummingbird and Two Children
The Pleiades and the Pine Tree
The Bears
How the Winds Came to Be
FROM AFRICA
The Children of the Sun and the Moon
FROM THE CELTS
Cuchulainn
FROM CHINA
Twenty-Four Bends in the Min River
FROM JAPAN
Benkei and Yoshitsune