Folktales are such a wonderful heritage we own. Cultures all around the world have fabulous folktales. Among them we can find some folktales are here to give a moral lesson. Some folktales are about legends, scary characters, and incidents. However, the best type of folktales are the funny folktales, regardless of the culture and region in the world. Here are some of the best funny folktales and folktale clusters for you. (Hint: The best funny folktales are at the end 😉
Funny Folktales 1: Stories of Andare
The stories of Andare revolve around a court jester who lived in the Kandyan Kingdom in Sri Lanka in the 1800s. This court jester was not just a joker. He was a very smart trickster. Here are ten funny stories of Andare.
- Andare Lifting a Rock
- Andare Fighting a Giant
- Andare Eating Java Apple
- Andare Pranking the Queen
- MInisters’ Prank on Andare
- Andare Eating Sugar
- Andare’s trick on his wife
- Andare Eating King’s Jackfruit
- Andare Escaping the Punishment
- Andare Planting Coconut
Funny Folktales 2: A Villager Who Went to Heaven
This story is about a farmer in a rural area who found out a way to travel to heaven. The storyline is quite interesting and creates fabulous scenes of curiosity and laughter. Meanwhile, it speaks about human nature.
“…One day, he woke up early and went to the paddy field. He saw that the paddy field had some marks. Gamarala looked closely. “What are these marks? It seems the paddy has been tamped down. The marks are round and large,” Gamarala thought. He took a while and thought about what it could be. “It seems the mortar at my home left the house last night and walked on the paddy field,” Gamarala thought. “
Click here to read the full story, A Villager Who Went to Heaven
Funny Folktales 3: The Lion with a Bad Breath
This story is about a lion who tried to catch animals with a trick. The story revolves around animals yet it gives off an important message to people. The narrative is funny as it’s about outsmarting the seemingly smart character.
“Once upon a time, there was a lion king in a large jungle. This jungle was quite different from others. This jungle had its own rules. Even the king, the lion, was not allowed to kill animals as he pleased. There was a protocol for taking someone’s life. No one was allowed to take the lives of others for fun. Only the carnivorous animals were allowed to take their lives for food.”
Click here to read the full story, The Lion with a Bad Breath
Funny Folktales 4: The Poles Cut for the River
The story of The Poles Cut for the River is a backstory of the idiom that goes as the title of the story. The story revolves around a young boy and his father, who went to the jungle to cut trees. The narrative builds to bring us a hilarious ending while giving off a strong message.
“Once upon a time, there was a family. The father, the mother, and the son. The land they lived on was quite big and they had grown crops on it. They got a good harvest too. But the problem was that they constantly got animals coming and eating out their crops. They did not have a good fence around the land. So, one day, the father was about to go cut down some trees to use as fence posts.”
Click here to read the full story, The Poles Cut for the River
Funny Folktales 5: Testimony of the Parrot
Sometimes we get played by the others. And, when we realize we got played, it’s too late. Our perception of reality sometimes can fool us. The parrot’s testimony is one of the funny stories that revolves around such an incident. This story also comes from an idiom.
“Once upon a time, a gypsy came to a village that was situated near a town with his fellow gypsies. This man had a parrot with him. He had found the parrot when it was little and taken care of it. Meanwhile, he trained this parrot to talk.”
Click here to read the full story, Testimony of the Parrot
Funny Folktales 6: The Man Who Left His Cat in the Jungle
This story is more of a story with irony than comical. The storyline illustrates a thin section of human nature and the day-to-day struggles of people with different preferences.
“Once upon a time, in a village, there lived a man. He was married to a lady and they lived in a small house. They had a little cat. And it was a female cat. One day, when the wife came to the kitchen, the cat was caught eating dried fish. The lady scared the cat away. Then again, the cat was caught doing the same. That time, she complained about the cat. Time passed like this. At times, this cat brings her hunters inside the house and leaves them there. The lady never knew that cats show their love for humans by bringing food they feel precious. So, obviously, it is going to be a rat or a squirrel.”
Click here to read the full story, The Man Who Left His Cat in the Jungle
Funny Folktales 7: How a Fool Stole a Well
One of the famous funny folktales from Sinhalese folklore is the story of the fool who stole a well. It is one of the stories from the tales of Mahadenamutta, translated into English as ‘the one who knows all’.
“On the way to this village, the Mahadenamutta and his students were so tired and thirsty. Therefore, they decided to go to a house nearby and ask for water. They approached a house and asked for water. The owner of the house was a kind villager. He invited them to sit until he brought water.”
Click here to read the full story, How a Fool Stole a Well
Funny Folkales 8: Ash Pumpkin Thief is Revealed by the Shoulder
The story of the ash pumpkin thief is the backstory of the Sinhalese idiom “Ash Pumpkin Thief is Revealed by the Shoulder”. This story has a hilarious end and it depicts a picturesque scene throughout the storyline.
“Gamarala was an innocent villager who made a living by farming. He was a hard-working farmer. He cultivated paddy, corn, peas, eggplants, lady fingers, cooking melon, and many more grains and vegetables. Every day, he woke up early in the morning and went to his paddy field or Chena cultivation to work in his cultivations. One day Gamarala, while walking to his Chena early in the morning, saw a flower bud in an ash pumpkin vine.”
Click here to read the full story, Ash Pumpkin Thief
Funny Folktales 9: Making the Chair By Breaking the Granary
This story illustrates how bad decisions can harm us, as it is an idiom story from Sinhalese folklore. The story is not comic, yet it is humorous enough and sends a strong message.
“Once upon a time, there was a beautiful village. In that village, most of the people were farmers. Among the farmers, there was a very poor man. He and his family lived in a very small house. A house made out of wooden sticks and clay with a rice straw roof. They did not have many household facilities. Occasionally, their friends visited their house to hang out with them. The couple was very happy to have people at their home. They welcomed them and treated them with whatever they had. But every time someone comes over, they get worried. They did not have any chairs.”
Click here to read the full story, Making the Chair by Breaking the Granary
Funny Folktales 10: Verdict of King Kakille
This story is about a foolish king and is a hilarious story. Yet, this story speaks how a fool in power can ruin a country. This story is also an idiom story that comes from Sinhalese folklore.
“A long time ago, there was a beautiful and prosperous kingdom with all the natural resources. The king of this kingdom was called Kakille. Though the kingdom was prosperous due to its richness in natural resources and good, hardworking people, the king was famous for his stupidity. On one unfortunate night, there was heavy rainfall. Due to the rain, a poor man’s house collapsed.”
Click here to read the full story, Verdick of King Kakille
Funny Folktales 11: Like Kaluwa Went to Marapana
This is also a funny folktale story from an idiom that goes as the title of the story. The story is about a man with a low IQ who does things without thinking carefully.
“Since ancient times, in most of the Buddhist temples in Sri Lanka, there are fellow men who serve the priests and stay in the temple. They do whatever the monks ask them to do and depend on the temple for food and shelter. Once upon a time, in one temple, there was such a man. His name was Kaluwa. He was quite famous in the village for his carelessness and silly actions. However, the head priest of the temple kindly let Kaluwa depend on the temple and took Kaluwa’s support for daily tasks in the temple.”
Click here to read the full story, Like Kaluwa Went to Marapana
Funny Folktales 12: Seven Gurus’ Cunjee Pot
This funny folktale story brings the humor by illustrating an interesting scene where selfishness harms everyone as a whole. The story revolves around a group of Gypsies.
“Once upon a time, in ancient Ceylon, seven gurus (gypsies) who were traveling on their own different paths met each other at an ambalama, where they chose to stay for the night. Ambalama is like a lodge, built for pilgrims, traders, and travelers to stay the night. So, the seven gurus who were traveling alone coincidentally met at such a place.”
Click here to read the full story, Seven Gurus’ Cunjee Pot
Funny Folktales 13: A Foolish Man Attending a Religious Ceremony
The story of the foolish man who attended a religious ceremony is a quite famous funny folktale story among Sinhalese. The story indeed is a hilarious one depicting how actions without critical thinking can put us into trouble.
“Once upon a time in ancient Ceylon, there was a man called Abara. He was married to a religious woman. They both were Buddhists. The woman who is more religious goes to temple on every full moon poya day. So, Abara’s wife went to the temple and observed Atasil and returned home. But Abara didn’t go to temple. He had never gone to the temple to observe Sil. His wife wanted him to go to the temple.”
Click here to read the full story, A Foolish Man Attending a Religious Ceremony
Funny Folktales 14: Foolish Man and the Moringa Tree
This story revolves around a man who dived into his imagination and took action according to his imagination, not realizing he was still in the present. This is a folktale story that is popular among Sri Lankans.
“One day, in the evening, this villager was sitting on the log placed in the front yard of his house. After having a tiring day, he sat there and kept thinking about his future. He wanted to earn a little more and make his family have better lives. While thinking, the man saw that the moringa tree that was planted on the fence had flowers. That sight put a smile on his face.”
Click here to read the full story, Foolish Man and the Moringa Tree
Funny Folktales 15: Raigamaya and Gampolaya
The last in our collection of funny folktales so far is the story of Raigamaya and Gampolaya. Those were two cunning men who met at a lodge one night and became friends. Let’s see how their cunning intentions cross each other.
“Once upon a time, in Ceylon, there were two cunning men. We call one of them Raigamaya and the other Gampolaya. Raigamaya was from the Raigama area. Gampolaya was from the Gampola area. One day, Raigamaya and Gampolaya met each other at an ambalama (an ambalama is a structure in Sri Lanka, constructed for pilgrims, traders, and travelers to rest and spend the night while they are traveling.) They had both been on their way somewhere. As the night fell, they both decided to spend the night in the ambalama and depart in the morning.”