William Alexander Clouston (1843-1896) was a famous British Folklorist. He contributed to valuable studies combining Eastern traditional literature with Norse and Western Folklore. His works include: The Book of Noodles: Stories of Simpletons; or, Fools and Their Follies (1888), Flowers from a Persian Garden and Other Papers (1890) and Book of Wise Sayings (1893). "LIKE popular tales in general, the original sources of stories of simpletons are for the most part not traceable. The old Greek jests of this class had doubtless been floating about among different peoples long before they were reduced to writing. The only tales and apologues of noodles or stupid folk to which an approximate date can be assigned are those found in the early Buddhist books, especially in the "J? takas, " or Birth-stories, which are said to have been related to his disciples by Gautama, the illustrious founder of Buddhism, as incidents which occurred to himself and others in former births, and were afterwards put into a literary form by his followers. "
THE BOOK OF NOODLES or Simpletons Fools and Their Follies is a book filled with unique collection of Noodle-tales from around the world. But what is a Noodle? After a fashion, the typical noodle in popular tales "points a moral". These poor fellows follow their instructions only too literally, and with a firm conviction that they are thus doing a very clever thing. But the consequence is almost always ridiculous. They practically show the fallacy of the old saw that "fools learn by experience," for his next folly is sure to be greater than the last, in spite of every caution to the contrary. They are generally very honest, and do everything "with the best intentions." Their minds are incapable of entertaining more than one idea at a time; but to that they holds fast, with the tenacity of the lobster's claw: they cannot be diverted from their task until, by some accident, a fresh idea displaces it; and so on they go from one blunder to another. Their blunders, however, which in the case of an ordinary man would infallibly result in disaster to himself or to others, sometimes lead the fools to unexpected good fortune. It is to them the great Persian poet Sádí alludes when he says, "The alchemist died of grief and distress, while the blockhead found a treasure under a ruin." Men of intelligence toil painfully to acquire a mere "livelihood" but the noodle stumbles upon great wealth in the midst of his wildest vagaries. In brief, they are, in stories, at least--a standing illustration of the "vanity of human life"! So, enjoy this collection of Noodle-tales brought together by W A Clouston, from widely scattered sources. While this book may bring you enjoyment and occasional bouts of mirth, its purchase will also benefit someone somewhere, for 10% of the publisher’s profit will be donated to charity. YESTERDAY'S BOOKS FOR TOMORROW'S CHARITIES ========= KEYWORDS/TAGS: book of noodles, moral tales, simpletons, fools, folly, idiots, luck of the Irish, ancient Greece, Gotham, gothamite, drolls, drolleries, variants, analogues, silly son, four Brahmans, first Brahman, second Brahman, third Brahman, fourth Brahman, conclusion, three great noodles, fool of Hereford, fool of Huntington, blunders, task driven, accidents, blockhead, treasure, foolish, honest, thought process, ideas,
William Alexander Clouston (1843-1896) was a famous British Folklorist. He contributed to valuable studies combining Eastern traditional literature with Norse and Western Folklore. His works include: The Book of Noodles: Stories of Simpletons; or, Fools and Their Follies (1888), Flowers from a Persian Garden and Other Papers (1890) and Book of Wise Sayings (1893). "LIKE popular tales in general, the original sources of stories of simpletons are for the most part not traceable. The old Greek jests of this class had doubtless been floating about among different peoples long before they were reduced to writing. The only tales and apologues of noodles or stupid folk to which an approximate date can be assigned are those found in the early Buddhist books, especially in the "J? takas, " or Birth-stories, which are said to have been related to his disciples by Gautama, the illustrious founder of Buddhism, as incidents which occurred to himself and others in former births, and were afterwards put into a literary form by his followers. "
