When a monkey rushes into a cave to seek shelter from the rain, he finds it already crowded with other animals: a lion, a jackal, a turtle and a dove. The animals begin to bicker until a small stone statue of Buddha suddenly speaks to them, telling stories of his past lives. Each of the six Jataka tales he tells them is somehow related to the various animals sharing the same cave and each one has a strong moral lesson about tolerance, truthfulness, generosity, or endurance. Taken as a whole, the overall message of these tales is of compassion, and by the time the rain lets up, each of the animals is feeling far more friendly toward the others. The distinctive linocut illustrations appear in black and white to show the cave scenes and in full color to illustrate the stories themselves. (Ages 4-8)