Hannah and the Animals

Hannah and the Animals is an engaging story, which encourages children to see how keeping an open mind is an important part of gaining knowledge. Hannah is a young girl bursting with good ideas and advice for others. But when it is her turn to listen, she is unwilling to accept that she might still have much to learn.

This story is one of many teaching stories collected and adapted by the Afghan philosopher Idries Shah, who told them to his own children to promote thinking skills and impart wisdom. These unique tales have their roots in Central Asia and the Middle East. They are published now, beautifully illustrated, so as to appeal to children in the lands in which they originated and to children in the West, the aims being to teach through humor and example and to draw attention to our commonalities.

This engaging story can inspire children to face challenges directly and to overcome obstacles in their path - and even to make use of those obstacles to solve problems. Adapted for children by Idries Shah, it is one of hundreds of Sufi developmental tales he collected from oral and written sources in Central Asia and the Middle East. At the same time, the story helps them learn valuable lessons about initiative, negotiation, conflict resolution and cooperation.