An old woman adopts a boy whose parents have died, but he is rude and lazy rather than industrious and helpful. Unable to get him to change his ways, she turns him into an ass. Will he finally become the good worker she hoped him to be?
Two quarrelling rulers with a shared border agree that anyone crossing from one country to the other should be subject to punishment. After one of these rulers imprisons his own wazir for a perceived slight, he rides off alone and accidentally crosses the border into the neighboring country, where he is taken into custody and sentenced to die. Will he or the wazir ever walk free again?
Two young royals are raised without any attempt to stretch them beyond their natural inclinations, so that neither one would be a suitable ruler. With the help of a little magic, might one – or both! – of them develop into a suitable ruler?
An emperor with three sons has one laughing eye and one weeping eye. After telling one of his three sons that only water from the well of the Fairy of the Dawn will heal his eyes, the sons set off, one at a time, on their quest. Will any of them return home?