Life's Secret and Other Folk-tales

Life's Secret and other Folk-Tales is a collection of stories by Lal Behari Dey. Lal Behari Dey presents the stories of his youth in Bengal, stories of kings and queens, gods and monsters, of rich and poor and everything in between.
In "Life's Secret," he tells the tale of Suo, a beautiful queen who has been unable to give birth to a son for her impatient, powerful husband. Just as she is ready to give in to despair, a mysterious healer presents her with a magical drug that will grant her the fertility she seeks. In "Phakir Chand," two young friends on a journey to a foreign land encounter a princess held captive by a terrifying serpent. Saving her, they agree to remain at her palace, but only one of them can take her hand in marriage.
Charming, instructive, and often surprising, Life's Secret and other Folk-Tales is an underappreciated masterpiece of Bengali literature from Lal Behari Dey.