The Magic Horse -- Le cheval magique - (Teaching Stories) by Idries Shah (Paperback)

About the Book

Everyone thinks Prince Tambal is only a dreamer. When a woodcarver makes a wooden horse that seems just a toy, Tambal discovers it can go wherever its rider wants. In this way, he learns many things and finds his heart's desire.

Book Synopsis

(Bilingual English-French edition / Edition bilingue anglais-français) This is the story of two brothers: one skilled in the practical arts and the other, Prince Tambal, considered by most people to be only a dreamer. Their father, the king, announces a competition to produce "interesting and useful devices." The entry produced by a woodcarver appears to be only a simple wooden horse of little value, but when Tambal looks more closely, he discovers that it's able to magically travel to whatever place is in its rider's mind. With the help of this magic horse, Tambal comes to learn a great many things and, eventually, to know his heart's desire. Julie Freeman's beautiful illustrations capture the magic of this tale, with the images and text inset in rich borders of oriental patterns. The Magic Horse is one of an illustrated series of Sufi teaching stories from the Middle East and Central Asia that were collected and adapted for children by Idries Shah, and that have captivated hearts and minds for more than a thousand years. The stories are designed to help children learn to examine their assumptions and to think for themselves. In the Sufi tradition, there is a continuum between the children's story, the entertainment or folklore story and the instructional or instrumental story. A story can help children deal with difficult situations and give them something to hold on to, but it can also stimulate a deeper understanding in adults. Through the instrumental function of this rich body of material, readers of all ages can learn to develop the capacity to be more flexible and to understand many more things about themselves and about life.

C'est l'histoire de deux frères: l'un doué dans les arts pratiques et l'autre, le prince Tambal, considéré par la plupart des gens comme n'étant qu'un rêveur. Leur père, le roi, annonce un concours pour produire des appareils intéressants et utiles . L'entrée soumise par un sculpteur sur bois semble n'être qu'un simple cheval de bois de peu de valeur, mais quand Tambal regarde de plus près, il découvre que ce jouet est capable de voyager comme par magie vers n'importe quel endroit dans l'esprit de son cavalier. Avec l'aide de ce cheval magique, Tambal en vient à apprendre beaucoup de choses et, éventuellement, à connaître le désir de son coeur. Les belles illustrations de Julie Freeman capturent la magie de ce conte, avec les images et le texte incrustés dans de riches bordures de motifs orientaux. Le cheval magique fait partie d'une série illustrée d'histoires-enseignement soufies du Moyen-Orient et d'Asie centrale qui ont été rassemblées et adaptées pour les enfants par Idries Shah, et qui ont captivé les coeurs et les esprits pendant plus de mille ans. Ces histoires sont conçues pour aider les enfants à apprendre à examiner leurs suppositions et à penser par eux-mêmes. Dans la tradition soufie, il existe un continuum entre le conte pour enfants, le conte divertissant ou folklorique et le conte pédagogique ou instrumental. Une histoire peut aider les enfants à faire face à des situations difficiles et leur donner quelque chose à quoi s'accrocher, mais elle peut aussi stimuler une compréhension plus profonde chez les adultes. Grâce à la fonction instrumentale de ce riche corpus de documents, les lecteurs de tous âges peuvent apprendre à développer leur capacité à être plus flexibles et à comprendre beaucoup plus de choses sur eux-mêmes et sur la vie.

Review Quotes

"The tale of the two brothers and their journeys is illustrated with jewel-toned, delicate paintings featuring the costumes, tools, buildings, and animals of the Moslem East. ... The two brothers do not represent good and evil as happens so often in Western tales, but instead merely the choice of two different paths." - School Library Journal (U.S.)

"... beautifully illustrated by Julie Freeman, who perfectly captures the magic of this ancient Sufi folk tale." - Midwest Book Review (U.S.)

"These teaching stories can be experienced on many levels. A child may simply enjoy hearing them; an adult may analyze them in a more sophisticated way. Both may eventually benefit from the lessons within." - "All Things Considered," National Public Radio (U.S.)

"They [teaching stories] suggest ways of looking at difficulties that can help children solve problems calmly while, at the same time, giving them fresh perspectives on these difficulties that help them develop their cognitive abilities" - psychologist Robert Ornstein, Ph.D., in his lecture "Teaching Stories and the Brain" given at the U.S. Library of Congress

"Through repeated readings, these stories provoke fresh insight and more flexible thought in children. Beautifully illustrated." - NEA Today: The Magazine of the National Education Association (U.S.)

"Shah's versatile and multilayered tales provoke fresh insight and more flexible thought in children." - Bookbird: A Journal of International Children's Literature

"These stories ... are not moralistic fables or parables, which aim to indoctrinate, nor are they written only to amuse. Rather, they are carefully designed to show effective ways of defining and responding to common life experiences." - Denise Nessel, Ph.D., Senior Consultant with the National Urban Alliance for Effective Education (U.S.), writing in Library Media Connection: The Professional Magazine for School Library Media Specialists (U.S.)

"These enchanting stories Shah has collected have a richness and depth not often encountered in children's literature, and their effect on minds young and old can be almost magical." - Multicultural Perspectives: An Official Journal of the National Association for Multicultural Education (U.S.)

"Shah has collected hundreds of Sufi tales, many of which are teaching tales or instructional stories. In this tradition, the line between stories for children and those for adults is not as clear as it seems to be in Western cultures, and the lessons are important for all generations." - School Library Journal (U.S.)

"... these are vibrant, engaging, universal stories...." - Multicultural Perspectives: An Official Journal of the National Association for Multicultural Education (U.S.)

"... a series of children's books that have captivated the hearts and minds of people from all walks of life. The books are tales from a rich tradition of story telling from Central Asia and the Middle East. Stories told and retold to children, by campfire and candlelight, for more than a thousand years." - NEA Today: The Magazine of the National Education Association (U.S.)