The Magic Drum and Other Favourite Stories

       How would you like to be transported into the world of kings, queens, and magical items? This book (The Magic Drum...), lets you do all that and more. Ever since she was a child, Sudha Murty loved hearing stories from around the world. Now, she has put all of her childhood favorites into this book that pulls you into the worlds of princes, paupers, and greedy kings. The Magic Drum and Other Favorite Stories is a collection of well-worded folktales. I really enjoyed her style of writing in simple but descriptive English. They (the stories) are short but really entertaining! She re-writes the tales, most of which are from Indian folklore. My favorite story was about a father who had a son that was mean and arrogant. The father's wife had died, so he remarried a kind-hearted woman who loved both the father and son dearly. Soon, the father passed, leaving a will that planned to teach the arrogant son a lesson. The will stated that the son would get all the money, plus the house, while the wife would only get a small cottage, with an outhouse. She would also be left a painting of the husband, who had told her previously to give the painting to the chief minister when the son turned 18 years old. She did so, and the minister found a letter from the husband, which was addressed to him within the painting. The letter said that ten of the bricks used to build the cottage were of pure gold. So the minister made the cruel son agree that not one part of the step-mother's property was his, and thus demolished the small cottage; emerging with ten golden bricks. He taught the son a lesson, and made the step-mother richer than the son ever was. So many stories, just like this one are found in this book. As per me, I'd say that this book is compulsory for everyone!