ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses tales of fools and wise people. The reason for the popularity of foolish folktales is probably the human need to laugh at someone elses folly. Wisdom tales are as popular around the world as fool tales. The same characters that seemed like fools may be wiser than the wiseas in the Indian and Caribbean tale of the three wise men who bring a tiger back to life and are eaten by it, while the fourth man, thought a fool, is wise enough to climb a tree. Other wisdom tales may show the humble in a good light and the mighty as foolish. Or they may show that true wisdom lies in good sense and a kind heart. Around the world, every culture has its fool or noodle stories. There is something very satisfying to the human psyche to realize that, however foolish a move one might make, there is always someone far more foolish.
