(Bilingual English-Spanish edition / Edición bilingüe inglés-español) 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.
Esta es la historia de dos hermanos: uno experto en las artes prácticas y el otro, el príncipe Tambal, considerado por la mayoría de la gente como un soñador. Su padre, el rey, anuncia un concurso para producir "dispositivos interesantes y útiles". La entrada producida por un tallador de madera parece ser solo un simple caballo de madera de poco valor, pero cuando Tambal mira más de cerca, descubre que este "juguete" es capaz de viajar mágicamente a cualquier lugar que esté en la mente de su jinete. Con la ayuda de este caballo mágico, Tambal llega a aprender muchas cosas y, finalmente, a conocer el deseo de su corazón. Las hermosas ilustraciones de Julie Freeman capturan la magia de este cuento, con imágenes y texto insertados en los ricos marcos de diseños orientales. El caballo mágico forma parte de una serie ilustrada de historias de enseñanza sufíes de Oriente Medio y Asia central que Idries Shah recopiló y adaptó para los niños y que han cautivado corazones y mentes durante más de mil años. Las historias están diseñadas para ayudar a los niños a aprender a examinar sus suposiciones y a pensar por sí mismos. En la tradición sufí, existe un continuo entre el cuento infantil, el cuento de entretenimiento o folclórico y el cuento instrumental o instructivo. Una historia puede ayudar a los niños a lidiar con situaciones difíciles y darles algo a lo que aferrarse, pero también puede estimular una comprensión más profunda en los adultos. A través de la función instrumental de este rico cuerpo de material, los lectores de todas las edades pueden aprender a desarrollar la capacidad de ser más flexibles y comprender muchas más cosas sobre sí mismos y sobre la vida.
Author Biography:
Idries Shah spent much of his life collecting and publishing Sufi classical narratives and teaching stories from oral and written sources in the Middle East and Central Asia. The tales he retold especially for children are published by Hoopoe Books in beautifully illustrated editions and have been widely commended - by Western educators and psychologists, the U.S. Library of Congress, National Public Radio and other media - for their unique ability to foster social-emotional development, thinking skills and perception in children and adults alike. Told for centuries, these stories express universal themes from the cultures that produced them, showing how much we have in common and can learn from each other. As noted by reviewers, such stories are more than just entertaining; familiarity with them provokes flexibility of thought, since each one contains levels of meaning that unfold in accordance with an individual's experience and understanding.
