The Kashmiri people who had to work very hard to make their ends meet had to seek the ways and means to overcome the difficulties they faced in the long tiresome winter. They would squat on floor & narrate their self made stories which were so interesting that the whole family and the neighbours would forget the chilly winds and frosting ice. J. Hinton Knowles, the author of this book has confessed that most of the stories he heard from the local people are purely Kashmiri in origin. The author had to learn the Kashmiri native language and phrases to understand the views of the story-teller. He says that some stories have been adopted and modified to suit the language, style of thought and social usage of the country. To European folk-tales also, several of these stories will be found to have great resemblance notably the story of “The Two Brothers,” to its counterpart, “St. George and the Dragon”.
