Neem the Half-Boy

The Queen of Hich-Hich fails to follow the instructions given to her by Arif the Wise Man and, as a result, gives birth to a half-boy. This story tells how Neem becomes a whole boy through cleverness, negotiation and compromise. This story helps children learn to think creatively by using flexibility and perseverance, while also entertaining and delighting them.

This tale is one of the many hundreds of Sufi developmental stories collected by Idries Shah from oral and written sources in Central Asia and the Middle East, presented here as one of a series of illustrated children's books. For more than a thousand years this story has entertained young people and helped to foster in them the ability to examine their assumptions and to think for themselves.