A princess who thinks she was a bird, a coconut that cost a thousand rupees and a shepherd with a bag of words kings and misers, princes and paupers, wise men and foolish boys, the funniest and oddest men and women come alive in this sparkling new collection of stories. The clever princess will only marry the man who can ask her a question she cannot answer the orphan boy outwits his greedy uncles with a bag of ash and an old couple in distress is saved by a magic drum.