Gopal and the cowherd

This simple Bengali folktale, illustrating the power of faith, was passed down from teacher to disciple: from Sri Ramakrishna to Swami Vivekananda and from him to Sister Nivedita, who recounted it in ‘Cradle Tales of Hinduism’. Little Gopal is afraid to walk alone through the forest to school. His mother tells him, “Call out to your cowherd brother. He will come and protect you”. When Gopal calls out, to his delight, a cowherd with dancing eyes appears and escorts him to school…..